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PHILADELPHIA 
J. B. L1PPINC OTT &. CO, 



CHRONICLE 



OF TUB 



CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



FROM THE MSS. OF 



FRAY ANTONIO AGAPIDA 



BY 

WASHINGTON IRVING. 



AUTHOR'S REVISED EDITION 



PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 

1872. 



X)VlZZ> 

.1? 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by 

Washington Irving, 

» the Cierfc's Office of the District Court of the Cnited States, * 

the Southern District of New York, 



\ 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGl 

Of the Kingdom of Granada, and the Tribute which it 1 
paid to the Castilian Crown 

CHAPTER II. 

Of the Embassy of Don Juan de Vera to demand Arrears 

of Tribute from the Moorish Monarch 9 



CHAPTER III. 

Domestic Feuds in the Alhambra. — Rival Sultanas. — 
Predictions concerning Boabdil, the Heir to the 
Throne. — How Ferdinand meditates War against 
Granada, and how he is anticipated • 15 

CHAPTER IV. 

Expedition of Muley Abul Hassan against the Fortress 

of Zahara 20 

CHAPTER Y. 

Expedition of the Marques of Cadiz against Alhama . 26 

CHAPTER VL 

How the People of Granada were affected on hearing of 
the Capture of Alhama ; and how the Moorish King 
sallied forth to regain it 38 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 



PAGfl 



How the Duke of Medina Sidonia, and the Chivalry of 

Andalusia, hastened to the Relief of Alliama . . 47 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Sequel of the Events at Alhama 53 

CHAPTER IX. 

Events at Granada, and Rise of the Moorish King Boab- 

dil el Chico 59 

CHAPTER X. 
Royal Expedition against Loxa 63 

CHAPTER XL 

How Muley Abul Hassan made a Foray into the Lands 

of Medina Sidonia. and how he was received . . 74 

CHAPTER XII. 

Foray of Spanish Cavaliers among "the Mountains of 

Malaga . 83 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Effects of the Disasters among the Mountains of Malaga 100 

CHAPTER XIV. 
How King Boabdil el Chico marched over the Border . 105 

CHAPTER XV. 

How the Count de Cabra sallied forth from his Castle in 

Quest of King Boabdil HC 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Battle of Lucena 117 



CONTENTS. vii 

CHAPTER XVII. 

TAGB 

Lamentations of the Moors for the Battle of I ucena . 127 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

How Muley Abul Hassan profited by the Misfortunes 

of his Son Boabdil 133 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Captivity of Boabdil el Chico 136 

CHAPTER XX. 
Of the Treatment of Boabdil by the Castilian Sovereigns 142 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Return of Boabdil from Captivity 147 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Foray of the Moorish Alcaydes, and Battle of Lopera . 154 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Retreat of Hamet el Zegri, Alcayde of Ronda . . .166 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Of the Reception at Court of the Count de Cabra and the 

Alcayde de los Donceles 171 

CHAPTER XXV. 

How the Marques of Cadiz concerted to surprise Zahara, 

and the Result of his Enterprise .... 176 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Of the Fortress of Alhama, and how wisely it was gov- 
erned by the Count de Tendilla _ . . • .186 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

PAOl 

Foray of Christian Knights into the Territory of the 

Moors 190 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Attempt of El Zagal to surprise Boabdil in Almeria . 198 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

How King Ferdinand commenced another Campaign 
against the Moors, and how he laid Siege- to Coin 
and Cartama 203 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Siege of Ronda 219 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

How the People of Granada invited El Zagal to the 

Throne, and how he marched to the Capital . . 218 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

How the Count de Cabra attempted to capture another 

King, and how he fared in his Attempt . . . 224 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Expedition against the Castles of Cambil and Alabahar 233 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Enterprise of the Knights of Calatrava against Zalea . 242 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
Death of Muley Abul Hassan 248 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

i)i the Christian Army which assembled at the City of 

Cordova 253 



CONTENTS. ix 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

PAGH 

How fresh Commotions broke out in Granada, and how 

the People undertook to allay them • 261 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

How King Ferdinand held a Council of War, at the 

Hock of the Lovers . . . . • . .265 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

How the Royal Army appeared before the City of Loxa, 
and how it was received; and of the doughty 
Achievements of the English Earl .... 269 

CHAPTER XL. 
Conclusion of the Siege of Loxa • . • • • 276 

CHAPTER XLI. 
Capture of IUora . . . ., . . .280 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Of the Arrival of Queen Isabella at the Camp before 
Moclin; and of the Pleasant Sayings of the English 
Earl 284 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

How King Ferdinand attacked Moclin, and of the strange 

Events that attended its Capture .... 290 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

How King Ferdinand foraged the Vega : and of the Bat- 
tle of the Bridge of Pinos, and the Fate of the two 
Moorish Brothers ... ... 296 

CHAPTER XLV. 

Attempt of El Zagal upon the Life of Boabdil, and how 

the latter was roused to Action .... 304 



* CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER XLVL 

How Boabdil returned secretly to Granada, and how he 
was received. — Second Embassy of Don Juan de 
Vera, and his Perils in the Alhambra . . .308 

CHAPTER XLVH. 
How King Ferdinand laid Siege to Velez Malaga . .317 

^CHAPTER XL VIII. 

How King Ferdinand and his Army were exposed to 

imminent Peril, before Velez Malaga . . 328 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

Result of the Stratagem of El Zagal to surprise King 

Ferdinand 334 

CHAPTER L. 
How the People of Granada rewarded the Valor of El 

Za S al 340 

CHAPTER LI. 
Surrender of Velez Malaga and other Places . . 344 

CHAPTER LII. 

Of the City of Malaga, and its Inhabitants. - Mission 

of Hernando del Pulgar 347 

CHAPTER LIII. 
Advance of King Ferdinand against Malaga . . .355 

CHAPTER LIV. 
Siege of Malaga 36l 

CHAPTER LV. 
Siege of Malaga continued. — Obstinacy of Hamet el 

Ze S ri .... .... 365 



CONTENTS. 3d 

CHAPTER LVI. pA6B 

Attack of the Marques of Cadiz upon Gibralfaro . . 369 

CHAPTER LVII. 
Siege of Malaga continued. - Stratagems of various 
Kinds 

CHAPTER LVIII. 
Sufferings of the People of Malaga 379 

CHAPTER LIX. 

How a Moorish Santon undertook to deliver the City of 

Malaga from the Power of its Enemies . . .384 

CHAPTER LX. 

How Hamet el Zegri was hardened in his Obstinacy, by 

the Arts of a Moorish Astrologer .... 390 

CHAPTER LXI. 

Siege of Malaga continued. — Destruction of a Tower, 

by Francisco Ramirez de Madrid . . • -395 

CHAPTER LXII. 

How the People of Malaga expostulated with Hamet el 

~ • .... 398 
Zegri 

CHAPTER LXIII. 
How Hamet el Zegri sallied forth with the sacred Ban- 
ner, to attack the Christian Camp .... 402 

CHAPTER LXIV. 
How the City of Malaga capitulated . 408 

CHAPTER LXY. 

Fulfillment of the Prophecy of the Dervise.- Fate of 
Hamet el Ze.^ri . . 



*" CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER LXVI. 

How the Castilian Sovereigns took Possession of the City 
of Malaga, and how King Ferdinand signalized him- 
self by his Skill in bargaining with the Inhabitants 
for their Ransom . . . i.g 

CHAPTER LXVII. 

How King Ferdinand prepared to carry the War into a 

Different Part of the Territories of the Moors . . 427 

CHAPTER LXVIII. 

How King Ferdinand invaded the Eastern Side of the 
Kingdom of Granada, and how he was received by 
E1Za S al 433 

CHAPTER LXIX. 

How the Moors made various Enterprises against the 

Christians * go 

CHAPTER LXX. 

How King Ferdinand prepared to besiege the City of 

Baza and how the City prepared for Defense . . 443 

CHAPTER LXXI. 

The Battle of the Gardens before Baza . . , .451 

CHAPTER LXXII. 
Siege of Baza. — Embarrassments of the Army • . 457 

CHAPTER LXXIII. 

Siege of Baza continued. — How King Ferdinand com 

pletely invested the City 46 1 

CHAPTER LXXIV. 
Exploit of Hernando Peiez del Pulgar and other Cava- 

liers 465 



CONTENTS. xiii 

CHAPTER LXXV. 

PAOB 

Continuation of the Siege of Baza 470 

CHAPTER LXXVI. 

How two Friars from the Holy Land arrived at the 

Camp . . . . 475 

CHAPTER LXXVII. 

How Queen Isabella devised Means to supply the Army 

with Provisions 482 

CHAPTER LXXVIII. 
Of the Disasters which befell the Camp .... 486 

CHAPTER LXXIX. 

Encounters between the Christians and Moors before 
Baza; and the Devotion of the Inhabitants to the 
Defense of their City . . - . . . .490 

CHAPTER LXXX. 

How Queen Isabella arrived at the Camp, and the Con- 
sequences of her Arrival 495 

CHAPTER LXXXI. 
Surrender of Baza . 500 

CHAPTER LXXXII. 
Submission of El Zagal to the Castilian Sovereigns . 508 

CHAPTER LXXX1IL 

Events at Granada, subsequent to the Submission of El 

Zagal . . 517 

CHAPTER LXXXIV. 

How King Ferdinand turned his Hostilities against the 

City of Granada . 524 



XIV 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER LXXXV. 
The Fate of the Castle of Roma . *$ ^ 

CHAPTER LXXXVI. 

How Boabdil el Chico took the Field; and his Expedi- 

tion against Alhendin . ' , m / 5; , 5 

CHAPTER LXXXVII. 
Exploit of the Count de Tendilla .... 539 

CHAPTER LXXXVTIL 
Expedition of Boabdil el Chieo against Salobrena. - 

Exploit ofHernan Perez del Pulgar . . .547 

CHAPTER LXXXIX. 

How King Ferdinand treated the People of Guadix 

and how El Zagal finished his Regal Career . ' 554 

CHAPTER XC. 

Preparations of Granada for a Desperate Defense . . 560 

CHAPTER XCI. 

How King Ferdinand conducted the Siege cautiously 

and how Queen Isabella arrived at the Camp . . 56 6 

CHAPTER XCII. 
Of the Insolent Defiance of Tarfe the Moor, and the 
Daring Exploit of Hernan Perez del Pulgar 



569 



CHAPTER XCIH. 



How Queen Isabella took a View of the City of Granada 
and how her Curiosity cost the Lives of many 

Christians and Moors . " K ~ 

• 57o 

CHAPTER XCIV. 
The Last Ravage before Granada .... 584 



CONTENTS. XV 

CHAPTER XCV. 

PAGE 

Conflagration of the Christian Camp. — Building of 

Santa ¥4 . .589 

CHAPTER XCVL 
Famine and Discord in the City ..... 598 

CHAPTER XCVII. 
Capitulation of Granada 598 

CHAPTER XCVIIL 
Commotions in Granada 603 

CHAPTER XCIX. 
Surrender of Granada 608 

CHAPTER C. 

How the Castilian Sovereigns t<K>k Possession of Gra- 
nada ... 616 

Appendix , 622 



INTRODUCTION. 




LTHOUGH the following Chronicle bears 
the name of the venerable Fray Antonio 
Agapida, it is rather a superstructure 
reared upon the fragments which remain of 
his work. It may be asked, Who is this same Agapida, 
who is cited with such deference, yet whose name is 
not to be found in any of the catalogues of Spanish 
authors ? The question is hard to answer : he appears 
to have been one of the many indefatigable authors 
of Spain, who have filled the libraries of convents 
and cathedrals with their tomes, without ever dream- 
ing of bringing their labors to the press. He evi- 
dently was deeply and accurately informed of the 
particulars of the wars between his countrymen and 
the Moors — a tract of history but too much over- 
grown with the weeds of fable. His glowing zeal, 
also, in the cause of the Catholic faith, entitles him 
to be held up as a model of the good old orthodox 
chroniclers, who recorded with such pious exultation 
the united triumphs of the cross and th« sword. It 
is deeply to be regretted, therefore, that his manu- 
scripts, deposited in the libraries of various convents, 
have been dispersed during the late convulsions in 
Spain, so that nothing is now to be met of them but 
disjointed fragments. These, however, are too pre- 
cious to be suffered to fall into oblivion, as they con- 
tain many curious facts, not to be found in any other 



XVm INTRODUCTION. 

historian. In the following work, therefore, the 
manuscript of the worthy Fray Antonio will be 
adopted, wherever it exists entire ; but will be filled 
up, extended, illustrated, and corroborated, by cita- 
tions from various authors, both Spanish and Arabian, 
who have treated of this subject. Those who may 
wish to know how far the work is indebted to the 
Chronicle of Fray Antonio Agapida, may readily 
satisfy their curiosity by referring to his manuscript 
fragments, carefully preserved in the library of the 
Escnrial. 

Before entering upon the history, it may be as 
well to notice the opinions of certain of the most 
learned and devout historiographers of former times, 
relative to this war. 

Marinus Siculus, historian to Charles V., pro- 
nounces it a war to avenge ancient injuries received 
by the Christians from the Moors, to recover the 
kingdom of Granada, and to extend the name and 
honor of the Christian religion. 1 
^ Estevan de Garibay, one of the most distinguished 
Spanish historians, regards the war as a special act 
of divine clemency towards the Moors ; to the end 
that these barbarians and infidels, who had dragged 
out so many centuries under the diabolical oppression 
of the absurd sect of Mahomet, should at length be 
reduced to the Christian faith. 2 

Padre Mariana, also, a venerable Jesuit, and the 
most renowned historian of Spain, considers the past 
domination of the Moors a scourge inflicted on the 
Spanish nation for its iniquities ; but the conquest of 
Granada, the reward of Heaven for its great act of 
propitiation in establishing the glorious tribunal of 

l Lucio Marino Siculo, Cosas Memorabiles de Espaiia, lib. 
20. 

* Garibay, Compend. Hist. Espana, lib. 18, c. 22. 



INTRODUCTION. xix 

the Inquisition ! No sooner (says the worthy father) 
was this holy office opened in Spain, than there 
shone forth a resplendent light. Then it was, that, 
through divine favor, the nation increased in power, 
and became competent to overthrow and trample 
down the Moorish domination. 1 

Having thus cited high and venerable authority 
for considering this war in the light of one of those 
pious enterprises denominated crusades, we trust we 
have said enough to engage the Christian reader to 
follow us into the field, and stand by us to the very 
issue of the encounter. 



NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION. 

The foregoing introduction, prefixed to the former 
editions of this work, has been somewhat of a detri- 
ment to it. Fray Antonio Agapida was found to be 
an imaginary personage ; and this threw a doubt 
over the credibility of his chronicle ; which was in- 
creased by a vein of irony, indulged here and there, 
and by the occasional heightening of some of the 
incidents, and the romantic coloring of some of the 
scenes. A word or two explanatory may therefore 
be of service. 2 j» 

The idea of the work was suggested while I was 
occupied at Madrid in writing the life of Columbus. 
In searching for traces of his early life, I was led 
among the scenes of the war of Granada ; he having 
followed the Spanish sovereigns in some of their 

1 Mariana. Hist. Fspana, lib 25, c. 1. 

2 Many of the observations in this note have already ap- 
peared in an explanatory article, which, at Mr. Murray's re- 
quest, the author furnished to the London Quarterly Review. 



XX INTRODUCTION. 

campaigns, and been present at the surrender of the 
Moorish capital. I actually wove some of these 
scenes into the biography ; but found they occupied an 
undue space, and stood out in romantic relief, not in 
unison with the general course of the narrative. My 
mind, however, had become so excited by the stirring 
events and romantic achievements of this war, that 
I could not return with composure to the sober 
biography I had in hand. The idea then occurred, 
as a means of allaying this excitement, to throw off 
a rough draught of the history of this war, to be re- 
vised and completed at future leisure. It appeared 
to me that its true course and character had never 
been fully illustrated. The world had received a 
strangely perverted idea of it through Fiorian's ro- 
mance of " Gonsalvo of Cordova," or through the 
legend, equally fabulous, entitled " The Civil Wars of 
Granada," by Ginez Perez de la Hita — the pretended 
work of an Arabian contemporary, but in reality a 
Spanish fabrication. It had been woven over with 
love tales and scenes of sentimental gallantry totally 
opposite to its real character ; for it was, in truth, 
one of the sternest of those iron conflicts, sanctified 
by the title of " Holy Wars." In fact, the genuine 
nature of the war placed it far above the need of any 
amatory embellishments. It possessed sufficient in- 
terest in the striking contrast presented by the combat- 
ants, of Oriental and European creeds, costumes, and 
manners ; and in the hardy and harebrained enter- 
prises, the romantic adventures, the picturesque 
forays through mountain regions ; the daring assaults 
and surprisals of cliff-built castles and cragged for- 
tresses, which succeeded each other with a variety 
and brilliancy beyond the scope of mere invention. 

The time of the contest, also, contributed to 
heighten the interest. It was not long after the in- 



INTRODUCTION. xxi 

vention of gunpowder ; when fire-arms and artillery 
mingled the flash, and smoke, and thunder of modern 
warfare, with the steely splendor of ancient cliivahy, 
and gave an awful magnificence and terrible sublim- 
ity to battle ; and when the old Moorish towers and 
castles, that for ages had frowned defiance to the 
battering-rams and catapults of classic tactics, were 
toppled down by the lombards of the Spanish en- 
gineers. It was one of the cases in which history 
rises superior to fiction. 

The more I thought about the subject the more I 
was tempted to undertake it, and the facilities at 
hand at length determined me. In the libraries of 
Madrid, and in the private library of the American 
Consul, Mr. Rich, I had access to various chronicles 
and other works, both printed and in manuscript, 
written at the time by eye-witnesses, and in some in- 
stances by persons who had actually mingled in the 
scenes recorded, and gave descriptions of them from 
different points of view, and with different details. 
These works were often diffuse and tedious, and oc- 
casionally discolored by the bigotry, superstition, and 
fierce intolerance of the age ; but their pages were 
illumined at times with scenes of high emprise, of 
romantic generosity, and heroic valor, which flashed 
upon the reader with additional splendor from the 
surrounding darkness. I collated these various works, 
some of which have never appeared in print, drew 
from each facts relative to the different enterprises, 
arranged them in as clear and lucid order as I could 
command, and endeavored to give them somewhat of 
a graphic effect, by connecting them with the man- 
ners and customs of the age in which they occurred. 
The rough draught being completed, I laid the man- 
uscript aside, and proceeded with the life of Colum- 
bus. After this was finished and sent to the press, J 



xxii INTRODUCTION. 

made a tour in Andalusia, visited the ruins of the 
Moorish towns, fortresses and castles, and the wild 
mountain passes and denies, which had been the 
scenes of the most remarkable events of the war, and 
passed some time in the ancient palace of the Al- 
hambra, the once favorite abode of the Moorish 
monarchs. Everywhere I took notes, from the most 
advantageous points of view, of whatever could 
serve to give local verity and graphic eifect to the 
scenes described. Having taken up my abode for a 
time at Seville, I there resumed my manuscript and 
rewrote it, benefited by my travelling notes and the 
fresh and vivid impressions of my recent tour. In 
constructing my chronicle, I adopted the fiction of 
a Spanish monk as the chronicler. Fray Antonio 
Agapida was intended as a personification of the 
monkish zealots, who hovered about the sovereigns 
in their campaigns, marring the chivalry of the 
camp by the bigotry of the cloister, and chronicling 
in rapturous strains every act of intolerance towards 
the Moors. In fact, scarce a sally of the pretended 
friar, when he bursts forth in rapturous eulogy of 
some great stroke of selfish policy on the part of 
Ferdinand, or exults over some overwhelming dis- 
aster of the gallant and devoted Moslems, but is 
taken almost word for word from one or other of the 
orthodox chroniclers of Spain. 

The ironical vein also was provoked by the mix- 
ture of kingcraft and priestcraft, discernible through- 
out this great enterprise, and the mistaken zeal and 
self-delusion of many of its most gallant and gener- 
ous champions. The romantic coloring seemed to 
belong to the nature of the subject, and was in har- 
mony with what I had seen in my tour through the 
poetical and romantic regions in which the events 
had taken place. With all these deductions the 



1NTR ODUCTION. xxin 

work, in all its essential points, was faithful to his- 
torical fact, and built upon substantial documents. 
It was a great satisfaction to me, therefore, after the 
doubts that had been expressed of the authenticity 
of my chronicle, to find it repeatedly and largely 
used by Don Miguel Lafuenle Alcantara, of Granada, 
in his recent learned and elaborate history of his 
native city ; he having had ample opportunity, in 
his varied and indefatigable researches, of judging 
how far it accorded with documentary authority. 

I have still more satisfaction in citing the follow- 
ing testimonial of Mr. Prescott, whose researches for 
his admirable history of Ferdinand and Isabella took 
him over the same ground I had trodden. His testi- 
monial is written in the liberal and courteous spirit 
characteristic of him ; but with a degree of eulogium 
which would make me shrink from quoting it, did I 
not feel the importance of his voucher for the sub- 
stantial accuracy of my work. 

" Mr. Irving' s late publication, the i Chronicle of 
the Conquest of Granada/ has superseded all further 
necessity for poetry, and, unfortunately for me, for 
history. He has fully availed himself of all the 
picturesque and animating movement of this roman- 
tic era ; and the reader who will take the trouble to 
compare his chronicle with the present more prosaic 
and literal narrative, will see how little he has been 
seduced from historic accuracy by the poetical aspect 
of his subject. The fictitious and romantic dress of 
his work has enabled him to make it the medium of 
reflecting more vividly the floating opinions and chi- 
merical fancies of the age, while he has illuminated 
the picture with the dramatic brilliancy of coloring 
denied to sober history." 1 

In the present edition I have endeavored to ren- 
1 Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, vol. ii., c. 15. 



XXIV 



INTRODUCTION. 



der the work more worthy of the generous encomium 
of Mr. Prescott. Though I still retain the fiction of 
the monkish author Agapida, I have brought my 
narrative more strictly within historical bounds, 
have corrected and enriched it in various parts with 
facts recently brought to light by the researches of 
Alcantara and others ; and have sought to render it 
a faithful and characteristic picture of the romantic 
portion of history to which it relates. 

W. I. 
Sunxyside 1850. 




A CHRONICLE 

OF THE 

CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 



CHAPTER I. 

Of the Kingdom of Granada, and the Tribute which it paid 
to the Castilian Crown. 




HE history of those bloody and disastrous 
wars, which have caused the downfall 
of mighty empires (observes Fray An- 
tonio Agapida), has ever been considered a study 
highly delectable, and full of precious edification. 
What then must be the history of a pious cru- 
sade, waged by the most Catholic of sovereigns, to 
rescue from the power of the infidels one of the 
most beautiful but benighted regions of the globe ? 
Listen then, while, from the solitude of my cell, 
I relate the events of the conquest of Granada, 
where Christian knight and turbaned infidel dis- 
puted, inch by inch, the fair land of Andalusia, 
until the crescent, that symbol of heathenish abom- 
ination, was cast down, and the blessed cross, 
the tree of our redemption, erected in its stead. 
Nearly eight hundred years were past and gone, 
1 



2 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

since the Arabian invaders had sealed the per- 
dition of Spain, by the defeat of Don Roderick, 
the last of her Gothic kings. Since that dis- 
astrous event, one portion after another of the 
peninsula had been gradually recovered by the 
Christian princes, until the single, but powerful 
and warlike territory of Granada, alone remained 
under the domination of the Moors. 

This renowned kingdom, situated in the south- 
ern part of Spain, and washed on one side by the 
Mediterranean sea, was traversed in every direc- 
tion by sierras or chains of lofty and rugged 
mountains, naked, rocky, and precipitous, render- 
ing it almost impregnable, but locking up within 
their sterile embraces deep, rich, and verdant 
valleys of prodigal fertility. 

In the centre of the kingdom lay its capital, 
the beautiful city of Granada, sheltered, as it 
were, in the lap of the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy 
Mountains. Its houses, seventy thousand in 
number, covered two lofty hills with their de- 
clivities, and a deep valley between them, through 
which flowed the Darro. The streets were 
narrow, as is usual in Moorish and Arab cities, 
but there were occasionally small squares and 
open places. The houses had gardens and in- 
terior courts, set out with orange, citron, and 
pomegranate trees, and refreshed by fountains, so 
that as the edifices ranged above each other up 
the sides of the hills, they presented a delightful 
appearance of mingled grove and city. One of 
the hills was surmounted by the Alcazaba, a 
strong fortress, commanding all that part of the 



THE CITY OF GRANADA. 3 

city ; the other by the Alhambra, a royal palace 
and warrior castle, capable of containing within 
its alcazar and towers a garrison of forty thousand 
men ; but possessing also its harem, the voluptuous 
abode of the Moorish monarchs, laid out with 
courts and gardens, fountains and baths, and 
stately balls, decorated in the most costly style of 
oriental luxury. According to Moorish tradition, 
the king who built this mighty and magnificent 
pile, was skilled in the occult sciences, and fur- 
nished himself with the necessary funds by means 
of alchemy. 1 Such was its lavish splendor that 
even at the present day, the stranger, wandering 
through its silent courts and deserted halls, gazes 
with astonishment at gilded ceilings and fretted 
domes, the brilliancy and beauty of which have 
survived the vicissitudes of war and the silent 
dilapidation of ages. 

The city was surrounded by high walls, three 
leagues in circuit, furnished with twelve gates, 
and a thousand and thirty towers. Its elevation 
above the sea, and the neighborhood of the Sierra 
Nevada crowned with perpetual snows, tempered 
the fervid rays of summer ; so that, while other 
cities were panting with the sultry and stifling 
heat of the dog-days, the most salubrious breezes 
played through the marble halls of Granada. 

The glory of the city, however, w T as its vega 
or plain, which spread out to a circumference of 
thirty-seven leagues, surrounded by lofty moun- 
tains, and was proudly compared to the famous 
plain of Damascus. It was a vast garden of 
1 Zurita, lib. 20, c. 42. 



4 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

delight, refreshed by numerous fountains, and by 
the silver windings of the Xenil. The labor and 
ingenuity of the Moors had diverted the waters 
of this river into thousands of rills and streams, 
and diffused them over the whole surface of the 
plain. Indeed, they had wrought up this happy 
region to a degree of wonderful prosperity, and 
took a pride in decorating it, as if it had been a 
favorite mistress. The hills were clothed with 
orchards and vineyards, the valleys embroidered 
with gardens, and the wide plains covered with 
waving grain. Here were seen in profusion the 
orange, the citron, the fig, and pomegranate, with 
great plantations of mulberry trees, from which 
was produced the finest silk. The vine clambered 
from tree to tree ; the grapes hung in rich clusters 
about the peasant's cottage, and the groves were 
rejoiced by the perpetual song of the nightingale. 
In a word, so beautiful was the earth, so pure the 
air, and so serene the sky of this delicious region, 
that the Moors imagined the paradise of their 
prophet to be situated in that part of the heaven 
which overhung the kingdom of Granada. 

Within this favored realm, so prodigally en- 
dowed and strongly fortified by nature, the Mos- 
lem wealth, valor, and intelligence, which had 
once shed such a lustre over Spain, had gradually 
retired, and here they made their final stand. 
Granada had risen to splendor on the ruin of 
other Moslem kingdoms ; but in so doing had be- 
come the sole object of Christian hostility, and 
had to ^maintain its very existence by the sword. 
The Moorish capital accordingly presented a sin- 



LUXURY OF THE MOORS. 5 

gular scene of Asiatic luxury and refinement, 
mingled with the glitter and the din of arms. 
Letters were still cultivated, philosophy and 
poetry had their schools and disciples, and the 
language spoken was said to be the most elegant 
Arabic. A passion for dress and ornament per- 
vaded ail ranks. That of the princesses and 
ladies of high rank, says Al Kattib, one of their 
own writers, was carried to a height of luxury 
and magnificence that bordered on delirium. 
They wore girdles and bracelets and anklets of 
gold and silver, wrought with exquisite art and 
delicacy, and studded with jacinths, chrysolites, 
emeralds, and other precious stones. They were 
fond of braiding and decorating their beautiful 
long tresses, or confining them in knots sparkling 
with jewels. They were finely formed, excessively 
fair, graceful in their manners, and fascinating in 
their conversation ; when they smiled, says Al 
Kattib, they displayed teeth of dazzling whiteness, 
and their toeath was as the perfume of flowers. 
The Moorish cavaliers, when not in armor, de- 
lighted in dressing themselves in Persian style, in 
garments of wool, of silk, or cotton, of the finest 
texture, beautifully wrought with stripes of various 
colors. In winter they wore, as an outer garment, 
the African cloak or Tunisian albornoz ; but in 
the heat of summer, they arrayed themselves in 
linen of spotless whiteness. The same luxury 
prevailed in their military equipments. Their 
armor was inlaid and chased with gold and silver. 
The sheaths of their scimetars were richly labored 
aud enameled, the blades were of Damascus bear- 



6 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

ing texts from the Koran, or martial and amorous 
mottoes ; the belts were of golden filagree, 
Btudded with gems ; their poniards of Fez, were 
wrought in the arabesque fashion ; their lances 
bore gay bandaroles ; their horses were sumptu- 
ously caparisoned with housings of green and 
crimson velvet, wrought with silk and enameled 
with gold and silver. All this warlike luxury 
of the youthful chivalry was encouraged by the 
Moorish kings, who ordained that no tax should 
be imposed on the gold and silver employed in 
these embellishments ; and the same exception 
was extended to the bracelets and other ornaments 
worn by the fair dames of Granada. 

Of the chivalrous gallantry which prevailed 
between the sexes in this romantic period of 
Moorish history, we have traces in the thousand 
ballads which have come down to our day, and 
which have given a tone and coloring to Spanish 
amatory literature, and to everything in Spain 
connected with the tender passion. 

War was the normal state of Granada and its 
inhabitants ; the common people were subject at 
any moment to be summoned to the field, and all 
the upper class was a brilliant chivalry. The 
Christian princes, so successful in regaining the 
rest of the peninsula, found their triumphs checked 
at the mountain boundaries of this kingdom. Ev- 
ery peak had its atalaya or watch-tower, ready to 
make its fire by night or to send up its column of 
smoke by day, a signal of invasion, at which the 
whole country was on the alert. To penetrate 
the defiles of this perilous country, to surprise a 



PAYMENT OF TRIBUTE. 7 

frontier fortress or to make a foray into the vega 
and a hasty ravage within sight of the very cap- 
ital, were among the most favorite and daring ex- 
ploits of the Castilian chivalry. But they never 
pretended to hold the region thus ravaged ; it was 
sack, burn, plunder, and away ! and these desola- 
ting inroads were retaliated in kind by the Moor- 
ish cavaliers, whose greatest delight was a tala, 
or predatory incursion into the Christian territories 
beyond the mountains. 

A partisan warfare of this kind had long ex- 
isted between Granada and its most formidable 
antagonist, the kingdoms of Castile and Leon. It 
was one which called out the keen yet generous 
rivalry of Christian and Moslem cavaliers, and 
gave rise to individual acts of chivalrous gallantry 
and daring prowess ; but it -was one which was 
gradually exhausting the resources and sapping 
the strength of Granada. One of the latest of 
its kings, therefore, Aben Ismael by name, dis- 
heartened by a foray which had laid waste the 
vega, and conscious that the balance of warfare 
was against his kingdom, made a truce in 1457 
with Henry I V., King of Castile and Leon, stip- 
ulating to pay him an annual tribute of twelve 
thousand doblas or pistoles of gold, and to liberate 
annually six hundred Christian captives, or in de- 
fault of captives to give an equal number of Moora 
as hostages ; all to be delivered at the city of Cor- 
dova. 1 

The truce, however was of a partial nature, 
with singular reservations. It did not include 
1 Garibay, Compend. lib. 17, c. 3. 



8 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the Moorish frontier towards Jaen, which was to 
remain open for the warlike enterprises of either 
nation ; neither did it prohibit sudden attacks 
upon towns and castles, provided they were mere 
forays, conducted furtively, without sound of 
trumpet or display of banners, or pitching of 
camps, or regular investment, and that they did 
not last above three days. 1 

Aben Ismael was faithful in observing the ion- 
ditions of the truce, but they were regarded with 
impatience by his eldest son, Muley Abul Hassan, 
a prince of a fiery and belligerent spirit, and fond 
of casing himself in armor and mounting his war- 
horse. He had been present at Cordova at one 
of the payments of tribute, and had witnessed the 
scoffs and taunts of the Christians, and his blood 
boiled whenever he recalled the humiliating scene. 

CD 

When he came to the throne in 1465, on the death 
of his father, he ceased the payment of the tribute 
altogether, and it was sufficient to put him into a 
tempest of rage only to mention it. 

" He was a fierce and warlike infidel," says 
the pious Fray Antonio Agapida ; " his bitter- 
ness against the holy Christian faith had been 
signalized in battle during the lifetime of his 
father, and the same diabolical spirit of hostility 
was apparent in his ceasing to pay this most righ- 
teous tribute." 

1 Zurita, Anales de Aragon, lib. 20, c. 42. Mariana, Hitf* 
da Esparto.^ lib. 25, c. 1. Bleda, Coron. de Moros, lib. 5, 
«. 3. 



X 




CHAPTER II. 

Of tbe Embassy of Don Juan de Vera to demand Arrears <rf 
Tribute from the Moorish Monarch. 

HE flagrant want of faith of Muley Abul 
Hassan in fulfilling treaty stipulations, 
passed unresented during the residue of 
the reign of Henry the Impotent, and the truce 
was tacitly continued without the enforcement of 
tribute, during the first three years of the reign 
of his successors, Ferdinand and Isabella, of glo- 
rious and happy memory, who were too much en- 
grossed by civil commotions in their own dominions 
and by a war of succession waged with them by 
the king of Portugal, to risk an additional conflict 
with the Moorish sovereign. When, however, 
at the expiration of the term of truce, Muley Abul 
Hassan sought a renewal of it, the pride and pi- 
ety of the Castilian sovereigns were weakened to 
the flagrant defalcation of the infidel king, and 
they felt themselves called upon, by their relig- 
ious obligations as champions of the faith, to 
make a formal demand for the payment of arrear- 
ages. 

In the year of grace 1478, therefore, Don Juan 
de Vera, a zealous and devout knight, full of ar- 
dor for the faith and loyalty to the crown, was 
sent as ambassador for the purpose. He was 



10 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

armed at all points, gallantly mounted, and fol- 
lowed by a moderate but well-appointed retinue ; 
in this way he crossed the Moorish frontier, and 
passed slowly through the country, looking round 
him with the eyes of a practiced warrior, and 
carefully noting its military points and capabil- 
ities. He saw that the Moor was well prepared 
for possible hostilities. Every town was strongly 
fortified. The vega was studded with towers of 
refuge for the peasantry, every pass of the moun- 
tain had its castle of defense, every lofty height 
its watch-tower. As the Christian cavaliers passed 
under the walls of the fortresses, lances and scim- 
etars flashed from their battlements, and the Moor- 
ish sentinels darted from their dark eyes glances 
of hatred and defiance. It was evident that a 
war with this kingdom musi be a war of posts, 
full of doughty peril and valiant enterprise ; where 
every step must be gained by toil and bloodshed, 
and maintained with the utmost difficulty. The 
warrior spirit of the cavaliers kindled at the 
thoughts, and they were impatient for hostilities ; 
<; not," says Antonio Agapida, u from any thirst 
for rapine and revenge, but from that pure and 
holy indignation which every Spanish knight en- 
tertained at beholding this beautiful dominion of 
his ancestors defiled by the footsteps of infidel 
usurpers. It was impossible," he adds, " to con- 
template this delicious country, and not long to 
see it restored to the dominion of the true faith, 
and the sway of the Christian monarchs." 

Arrived at the gates of Granada, Don Juan 
de Vera and his companions saw the same vigi- 



EMBASSY OF DON JUAN BE VERA. 11 

lant preparations on the part of the Moorish king. 
His walls and towers were of vast strength, in 
complete repair, and mounted with lombards and 
other heavy ordnance. His magazines were well 
stored with the munitions of war ; he had a 
mighty host of foot-soldiers, together with squad- 
rons of cavalry, ready to scour the country, and 
carry on either defensive or predatory warfare. 
The Christian warriors noted these things with- 
out dismay ; their hearts rather glowed with 
emulation, at the thoughts f encountering so 
worthy a foe. As they slowly pranced through 
the streets of Granada, they looked round with 
eagerness on its stately palaces and sumptuous 
mosques ; on its alcayceria or bazar, crowded 
with silks and cloth of silver and gold, with 
jewels and precious stones, and other rich mer- 
chandise, the luxuries of every clime; and they 
longed for the time when all this wealth should 
be the spoil of the soldiers of the faith, and when 
each tramp of their steeds might be fetlock deep 
in the blood and carnage of the infidels. 

The Moorish inhabitants looked jealously at 
this small but proud array of Spanish chivalry, 
as it paraded, with that stateliuess possessed only 
by Spanish cavaliers, through the renowned gate 
of Elvira. They were struck with the stern 
and lofty demeanor of Don Juan de Vera, and 
his sinewy frame, which showed him formed for 
hardy deeds of arms ; and they supposed he had 
gome in search of distinction, by defying the 
Moorish knights in open tourney, or in the 
famous tilt with reeds, for which they were so 



12 CONQUEST OF GRAN ALA. 

renowned ; for it was still the custom of the 
knights of either nation to mingle in these cour- 
teous and chivalrous contests during the intervals 
of war. When they learned, however, that he 
was come to demand the tribute so abhorrent to 
the ears of the fiery monarch, they observed that 
it well required a warrior of his apparent nerve 
to execute such an embassy. 

Muley Abul Hassan received the cavalier in 
state, seated on a magnificent divan, and sur- 
rounded by the officers of his court, in the hall 
of ambassadors, one of the most sumptuous 
apartments of the Alhambra. When De Vera 
had delivered his message, a haughty and bitter 
smile curled the lip of the fierce monarch. 
" Tell your sovereigns," said he, " that the kings 
of Granada, who used to pay tribute in money 
to the Castilian crown, are dead. Our mint at 
present coins nothing but blades of scimetars 
and heads of lances." 1 

The defiance couched in this proud reply was 
heard with secret satisfaction by Don Juan de 
Vera, for he was a bold soldier and a devout 
hater of the infidels ; and he saw iron war in 
the words of the Moorish monarch. Being mas- 
ter, however, of all points of etiquette, he re- 
tained an inflexible demeanor, and retired from 
the apartment with stately and ceremonious 
gravity. His treatment was suited to his rank 
and dignity ; a magnificent apartment in the 
Alhambra was assigned to him ; and before his 
departure a scimetar was sent to him by the 

i Garibay, lib. 4CL, c. 29. Conde, Hist. Arab., pt. 4, c. 34- 



EMBASSY OF DON JUAN BE VERA. 13 

king ; the blade of the finest Damascus steel, the 
hilt of agate, enriched with precious stones, and 
the guard of gold. De Vera drew it, and 
smiled grimly as he noticed the admirable temper 
of the blade. " His majesty has given me a 
trenchant weapon," said he : " I trust a time will 
come when I may show him that I know how to 
use his royal present." The reply was consid- 
ered a compliment, of course ; the bystanders 
little knew the bitter hostility that lay couched 
beneath. 

On his return to Cordova, Don Juan de Vera 
delivered the reply of the Moor, but at the same 
time reported the state of his territories. These 
had been strengthened and augmented during the 
weak reign of Henry IV. and the recent troubles 
of Castile. Many cities and strong places con- 
tiguous to Granada, but heretofore conquered by 
the Christians, had renewed their allegiance to 
Muley Abul Hassan, so that his kingdom now 
contained fourteen cities, ninety-seven fortified 
places, besides numerous unwalled towns and 
villages defended by formidable castles, while 
Granada towered in the centre as the citadel. 

The wary Ferdinand, as he listened to the 
military report of Don Juan de Vera, saw that 
the present was no time for hostilities with a 
warrior kingdom, so bristled over with means of 
defense. The internal discords of Castile still 
continued, as did the war with Portugal ; under 
these circumstances he forbore to insist upon the 
payment of tribute, and tacitly permitted the 
truce to continue ; but the defiance contained in 



14 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the reply of Muley Abul Hassan remained rank- 
ling in his bosom as a future ground of war; 
and De Vera's description of Granada as the 
centre of a system of strongholds and rock-built 
castles, suggested to him his plan of conquest; 
by taking town after town, and fortress after for- 
tress, and gradually plucking away all the sup- 
ports before he attempted the capital. He ex- 
pressed his resolution in a memorable pun, or 
play upon the name of Granada, which, signifies 
a pomegranate. " I will pick out the seeds of 
this pomegranate one by one," said the cool and 
crafty Ferdinand. 

Note. — In the first edition of this work the author re- 
counted a characteristic adventure of the stout Juan de Vera, 
as happening on the occasion of this embassy; a further con- 
sultation of historical authorities has induced him to transfer 
it to a second embassy of De Vera's; which the reader will 
find related in a subsequent chapter. 



CHAPTER III. 




Domestic Feuds in the Alhambra. — Rival Sultanas. — Pre* 
dictions concerning Boabdil the Heir to the Throne. — How 
Ferdinand meditates War against Granada, and how he is 
anticipated. 

HOUGH Muley Abul Hassan, was at 
peace in his external relations, a civil 
war raged in his harem, which it is 
proper to notice, as it had a fatal effect upon the 
fortunes of the kingdom. Though cruel by na- 
ture, he was uxorious, and somewhat prone to be 
managed by his wives. Early in life he had 
married his kinswoman, Ayxa (or Ayesha), 
daughter of his great uncle the Sultan Moham- 
med VII., surnamed El Hayzari, or the left- 
handed. She was a woman of almost masculine 
spirit and energy, and of such immaculate and 
inaccessible virtue, that she was generally called 
La Horra, or The Chaste. By her he had a 
son, Abu Abdallah ; or, as he is commonly named 
by historians, Boabdil. The court astrologers, 
according to custom, cast the horoscope of the 
infant, but were seized with fear and trembling 
as they regarded it. " Allah Achbar ! God is 
great ! " exclaimed they, " He alone controls the 
fate of empires. It is written in the book of fate 
that this child will one day sit upon the throne, 



16 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

but that the downfall of the kingdom will ne 
accomplished during his reign. " From that 
time the prince had been regarded with aversion 
by his father ; and the prediction which hung 
over him, and the persecutions to which he be- 
came subjected, procured him the surname of El 
Zogoybi, or The Unfortunate. He grew up, 
however, under the protection of his valiant- 
hearted mother, who, by the energy of her char- 
acter, long maintained an undisputed sway in the 
harem, until, as her youth passed away and her 
beauty declined, a formidable rival arose. 

In one of the forays of the Moorish chivalry 
into the Christian territories, they had surprised a 
frontier fortress, commanded by Sancho Ximenes 
de Solis, a noble and valiant cavalier, who fell in 
bravely defending it. Among the captives was 
his daughter Isabella, then almost in her infancy ; 
who was brought to Granada, delicately raised, 
and educated in the Moslem faith. 1 Her Moor- 
ish captors gave her the name of Fatima, but as 
she grew up her surpassing beauty gained her 
the surname of Zoraya, or the Morning Star, 
by which she has become known in history. 
Her charms at length attracted the notice of 
Muley Abul Hassan, and she soon became a 
member of his harem. Some have spoken of 
her as a Christian slave, whom he had made his 
concubine ; but others, with more truth, represent 
her as one of his wives, and ultimately his favor- 
ite Sultana ; and indeed it was often the case 
that female captives of rank and beauty, when 
1 Cronica del Gran. Cardinal, cap. 71. 



FEUDS IN THE ALHAMBRA. 17 

converted to the faith of Islam, became united to 

over the mind of Mole, AM ";**»■ J^'Z 

ss o-« r . »^*ir^ ™ 

I oh.d groat influence over him, «M*^ 
ray o, of Chri.tUm g-gj-* * £ tn- 

brother Eeduan Vanegas, likewise nigu 

tK court of Muley ^bul Hassau; and ^ 

a r S TraltCt other hand, were sup- 
tned by the noble and once potent family of 
thTlbencerrages, and by Aben Cormxer, alcayde 
f tte Alhamlra; and between these two fac- 
? « hPRded by rival sultanas, the harem of 
Sy Si, became the .ene of uwet 
erate jealousies and intrigues winch, in time, 
1 Cura d* fo S Polios, Hist, de los Reyes CaH. cap. 56. 



18 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

will be shown, led to popular commotions and 
civil wars. 1 

While these female feuds were threatening 
Muley Abul Hassan with trouble and disaster at 
home, his evil genius prompted him to an enter- 
prise which involved him in tenfold danger from 
abroad. The reader has already been apprised 
of a singular clause in the truce existing between 
the Christians and the Moors, permitting hasty 
dashes into each others' territories, and assaults 
of towns and fortresses, provided they were car- 
ried on as mere forays, and without the parade 
of regular warfare. A long time had elapsed, 
however, without any incursion of the kind on 
the part of the Moors, and the Christian towns 
on the frontiers had, in consequence, fallen into a 
state of the most negligent security. In an un- 
lucky moment, Muley Abul Hassan was tempted 
to one of these forays by learning that the for- 
tress of Zahara, on the frontier between Honda 
and Medina Sidonia, was but feebly garrisoned 
and scantily supplied, and that its alcayde was 
careless of his charge. This important post was 
built on the crest of a rocky mountain, with a 
strong castle perched above it, upon a cliff, so high 
that it was said to be above the flight of birds or 
drift of clouds. The streets and many of the 
houses were mere excavations, wrought out of the 

1 It is to be rioted that several historians have erroneously 
represented Zoraya as the mother of Boabdil, instead of Ayxa 
la Horra ; and the Abencerrages as the opponents of Boabdil, 
instead of his strenuous adherents. The statement in the 
text is according to the most reliable authorities. 



STRENGTH OF ZAHARA. 19 

living rock. The town had but one gate, open- 
ing to the west, and defended by towers and bul- 
warks. The only ascent to this cragged fortress 
was by roads cut in the rock, so rugged in many 
places as to resemble broken stairs. In a word, 
the impregnable security of Zahara had become 
so proverbial throughout Spain, that a woman 
of forbidding and inaccessible virtue was called a 
Zaharena. But the strongest fortress and sternest 
virtue have weak points, and require unremitting 
vigilance to guard them : let warrior and dame 
take warning from the fate of Zahara. 



>ar 




CHAPTER IV. 



Expedition of Muley Abul Hassan against the Fortress of 
Zahara. 



N the year of our Lord one thousand four 
hundred and eighty-one, and but a night 
or two after the festival of the most 
blessed Nativity, the inhabitants of Zahara were 
sunk in profound sleep ; the very sentinel had de- 
serted his post, and sought shelter from a tempest 
which had raged for three nights in succession ; 
for it appeared but little probable that an enemy 
would be abroad during such an uproar of the 
elements. But evil spirits work best during a 
storm. In the midst of the night, an uproar rose 
within the walls of Zahara, more awful than the 
raging of the storm. A fearful alarm cry — " The 
Moor ! the Moor ! " resounded through the streets, 
mingled with the clash of arms, the shriek of 
anguish, and the shout of victory. Muley Abul 
Hassan, at the head of a powerful force, had 
hurried from Granada, and passed unobserved 
through the mountains in the obscurity of the 
tempest. While the storm pelted the sentinel 
from his post, and howled round tower and battle- 
ment, the Moors had planted their scaling-ladders, 
and mounted securely into both town and castle. 
The garrison was unsuspicious of danger, until 



SURPRISE OF ZAHARA. 21 

battle and massacre burst forth within its very 
walls. It seemed to the affrighted inhabitants, as 
if the fiends of the air had come upon the wings 
of the wind, and possessed themselves of tower 
and turret. The war-cry resounded on every 
side, shout answering shout above, below, on the 
battlements of the castle, in the streets of the 
town — the foe was in all parts, wrapped in ob- 
scurity, but acting in concert by the aid of pre- 
concerted signals. Starting from sleep, the sol- 
diers were intercepted and cut down as they 
rushed from their quarters ; or if they escaped, 
they knew not where to assemble, or where to 
strike. Wherever lights appeared, the flashing 
scimetar was at its deadly work, and all who 
attempted resistance fell beneath its edge. 
In a little while the struggle was at an end. 

DO 

Those who were not slain took refuge in the 
secret places of their houses, or gave themselves 
up as captives. The clash of arms ceased ; and 
the storm continued its howling, mingled with the 
occasional shout of the Moorish soldiery, roaming 
in search of plunder. While the inhabitants 
were trembling for their fate, a trumpet resounded 
through the streets, summoning them all to as- 
semble, unarmed, in the public square. Here 
they were surrounded by soldiery, and strictly 
guarded, until daybreak. When the day dawned, 
it was piteous to behold this once prosperous com- 
munity, who had laid down to rest in peaceful se- 
curity, now crowded together without distinction 
of age, or rank, or sex, and almost without rai- 
ment, during the severity of a wintry storm. The 



22 CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 

fierce Muley Abul Hassan turned a deaf ear to 
all their prayers and remonstrances, and ordered 
them to be conducted captives to Granada. Leav- 
ing a strong garrison in both town and castle, 
with orders to put them in a complete state of 
defense, he returned, flushed with victory, to his 
capital, entering it at the head of his troops, laden 
with spoil, and bearing in triumph the banners 
and pennons taken at Zahara. 

While preparations were making for jousts and 
other festivities, in honor of this victory over the 
Christians, the captives of Zahara arrived — a 
wretched train of men, women, and children, worn 
out with fatigue and haggard with despair, and 
driven like cattle into the city gates, by a detach- 
ment of Moorish soldiery. 

Deep was the grief and indignation of the 
people of Granada at this cruel scene. Old 
men, who had experienced the calamities of 
warfare, anticipated coming troubles. Mothers 
clasped their infants to their breasts, as they be- 
held the hapless females of Zahara, with their 
children expiring in their arms. On every side, 
the accents of pity for the sufferers were mingled 
with execrations of the barbarity of the king. 
The preparations for festivity were neglected; 
and the viands, which were to have feasted the 
conquerors, were distributed among the captives. 
The nobles and alfaquis, however, repaired to 
the Alhambra to congratulate the king; for, 
whatever storms may rage in the lower regions 
of society, rarely do any clouds, but clouds of 
incense, rise to the awful eminence of the throne. 



PREDICTION OF A SANTON. 23 

In this instance, however, a voice rose from the 
midst of the obsequious crowd, and burst like 
thunder upon the ears of Abui Hassan. " Woe ! 
woe ! woe ! to Granada ! " exclaimed the voice ; 
" its hour of desolation approaches. The ruins 
of Zahara will fall upon our heads ; my spirit 
tells me that the end of our empire is at hand ! " 
All shrank back aghast, and left the denouncer 
of woe standing alone in the centre of the hall. 
He was an ancient and hoary man, in the rude 
attire of a dervise. Age haji withered his form 
without quenching the fire of his spirit, which 
glared in baleful lustre from his eyes. He was 
(say the Arabian historians) one of those holy 
men termed sautons, who pass their lives in her- 
mitages, in fasting, meditation, and prayer, until 
they attain to the purity of saints and the fore- 
sight of prophets. " He was," says the indignant 
Fray Antonio Agapida, " a son of Belial, one of 
those fanatic infidels possessed by the devil, who 
are sometimes permitted to predict the truth to 
their followers ; but with the proviso, that their 
predictions shall be of no avail." 

The voice of the santon resounded through 
the lofty hall of the Alhambra, and struck silence 
and awe into the crowd of courtly sycophants. 
Muley Abul Hassan alone was unmoved ; he 
eyed the hoary anchorite with scorn as he stood 
dauntless before him, and treated his predictions 
as the ravings of a maniac. The santon rushed 
from the royal presence, and, descending into the 
fity, hurried through its streets and squares with 
frantic gesticulations. His voice was heard, in 



24 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

every part, in awful denunciation. "The peace 
is broken ! exterminating war is commenced. 
Woe ! woe ! woe to Granada ! its fall is at hand ! 
desolation will dwell in its palaces ; its strong 
men will fall beneath the sword, its children and 
maidens be led into captivity. Zahara is but a 
type of Granada ! " 

Terror seized upon the populace, for they con- 
sidered these ravings as the inspirations of 
prophecy. Some hid themselves in their dwell- 
ings, as in a time of general mourning ; while 
some gathered together in knots in the streets 
and squares, alarming each other with dismal 
forebodings, and cursing the rashness and cruelty 
of the king. 

The Moorish monarch heeded not their mur- 
murs. Knowing that his exploit must draw 
upon him the vengeance of the Christians, he 
now threw off all reserve, and made attempts to 
surprise Castellan and Elvira, though without 
success. He sent alfaquis, also, to the Barbary 
powers, informing them that the sword was 
drawn, and inviting the African princes to aid 
him with men and supplies in maintaining the 
kingdom of Granada, and the religion of Ma- 
homet, against the violence of unbelievers. 

While discontent exhaled itself in murmurs 
among the common people, however, it fomented 
in dangerous conspiracies among the nobles, and 
Muley Abul Hassan was startled by information 
of a design to depose him and place his son 
Boabdil upon the throne. His first measure was 
to confine the prince and his mother in the tower 



ESCAPE OF BOABDJL. 25 

of Comares ; then, calling to mind the prediction 
of the astrologers, that the youth would one day 
sit on the throne of Granada, he impiously set 
the stars at defiance. " The sword of the execu- 
tioner," said he, " shall prove the fallacy of those 
lying horoscopes, and shall silence the ambition 
of Boabdil." 

The Sultana Ayxa, apprised of the imminent 
danger of her son, concerted a plan for his 
escape. At the dead of the night she gaiued 
access to his prison, and tying together the shawls 
and scarfs of herself and her female attendants, 
lowered him down from a balcony of the Alham- 
bra to the steep, rocky hill-side which sweeps 
down to the Darro. Here some of her devoted 
adherents were waiting to receive him, who, 
mounting him on a swift horse, spirited him 
away to the city of Guadix, in the Alpuxaras. 




CHAPTER V. 




Expedition of the Marques of Cadiz against Alhama. 

jREAT was the indignation of King 
Ferdinand when he heard of the storm- 
ing of Zahara ; though the outrage of 
the Moor happened most opportunely. The war 
between Castile and Portugal had come to a 
close ; the factions of the Spanish nobles were 
for the most' part quelled. The Castilian raon- 
archs had now, therefore, turned their thoughts 
to the cherished object of their ambition, the 
conquest of Granada. The pious heart of Isa- 
bella yearned to behold the entire peninsula re- 
deemed from the domination of the infidel ; while 
Ferdinand, in whom religious zeal was mingled 
with temporal policy, looked with a craving eye 
to the rich territory of the Moor, studded with 
wealthy towns and cities. Muley Abul Hassan 
had rashly or unwarily thrown the brand that 
was to produce the wide conflagration. Ferdi- 
nand was not the one to quench the flames. He 
immediately issued orders to all the adelantados 
and alcaydes of the frontiers, to maintain the 
utmost vigilance at their posts, and to prepare to 
carry fire and sword into the territories of the 
Moors. 

Among the many valiant cavaliers who rallied 



THE MARQUES OF CADIZ. 27 

round the throne of Ferdinand and Isabella, one 
of the most eminent in rank and renowned in 
arms was Don Roderigo Ponce de Leon, Marques 
of Cadiz. As he was the distinguished champion 
of this holy war, and commanded in most of its 
enterprises and battles, it is meet that some par- 
ticular account should be given of him. He was 
born in 1443, of the valiant lineage of the 
Ponces, and from his earliest youth had rendered 
himself illustrious in the field. He was of the 
middle stature, with a muscular and powerful 
frame, capable of great exertion and fatigue. 
His hair and beard were red and curled, his 
countenance was open and magnanimous, of a 
ruddy complexion, and slightly marked with the 
small-pox. He was temperate, chaste, valiant, 
vigilant ; a just and generous master to his vas- 
sals ; frank and noble in his deportment towards 
his equals ; loving and faithful to his friends ; 
fierce and terrible, yet magnanimous, to his ene- 
mies. He was considered the mirror of chivalry 
of his times, and compared by contemporary his- 
torians to the immortal Cid. 

The marques of Cadiz had vast possessions in 
the most fertile parts of Andalusia, including 
many towns and castles, and could lead forth an 
army into the field from his own vassals and de- 
pendents. On receiving the orders of the king, 
he burned to signalize himself by some sudden 
incursion into the kingdom of Granada, that 
should give a brilliant commencement to the war, 
and should console the sovereigns for the insult 
they had received in the capture of Zahara. As 



28 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

his estates lay near to the Moorish frontiers, and 
were subject to sudden inroads, he had always 
in his pay numbers of adalides, or scouts and 
guides, many of them converted Moors. These 
he sent out in all directions, to watch the move- 
ments of the enemy, and to procure all kinds of 
information important to the security of the fron- 
tier. One of these spies came to him one day 
in his town of Marchena, and informed him that 
the Moorish town of Alhama was slightly gar- 
risoned and negligently guarded, and might be 
taken by surprise. This was a large, wealthy, 
and populous place, within a few leagues of Gra- 
nada. It was situated on a rocky height, nearly 
surrounded by a river, and defended by a fortress 
to which there was no access but by a steep and 
cragged ascent. The strength of its situation, 
and its being embosomed in the centre of the 
kingdom, had produced the careless security 
which now invited attack. 

To ascertain fully the state of the fortress, the 
marques dispatched secretly a veteran soldier, 
who was highly in his confidence. His name 
was Ortega de Prado, a man of great activity, 
shrewdness, and valor, and captain of escaladors 
( soldiers employed to scale the walls of fortresses 
in time of attack). Ortega approached Alhama 
one moonless night, and paced along its walls 
with noiseless step, laying his ear occasionally to 
the ground or to the wall. Every time, he dis- 
tinguished the measured tread of a sentinel, and 
now and then the challenge of the night-watch 
going its rounds. Finding the town thus guarded 






MARCH TO ALE AM A. 29 

he clambered to the castle : — there all was 
silent. As he ranged its lofty battlements, be- 
tween him and the sky he saw no sentinel on 
duty. He noticed certain places where the wall 
might be ascended by scaling-ladders ; and hav- 
ing marked the hour of relieving guard, and 
made all necessary observations, he retired with- 
out being discovered. 

Ortega returned to Marchena, and assured the 
marques of Cadiz of the practicability of scaling 
the castle of Alhama, and taking it by surprise. 
The marques had a secret conference with Don 
Pedro Enriquez, Adelantado of Andalusia ; Don 
Diego de Merlo, commander of Seville ; Sancho 
de Avila, Alcayde of Carmona, and others, who 
all agreed to aid him with their forces. On an 
appointed day, the several commanders assembled 
at Marchena with their troops and retainers. 
None but the leaders knew the object or destina- 
tion of the enterprise ; but it was enough to 
rouse the Andalusian spirit, to know that a foray 
was intended into the country of their old ene- 
mies, the Moors. Secrecy and celerity were 
necessary for success. They set out promptly, 
with three thousand genetes, or light cavalry 
and four thousand infantry. They chose a route 
but little travelled, by the way of Antiquera, 
passing with great labor through rugged and sol- 
itary defiles of the Sierra or chain of mountains 
of Arrecife, and left all their baggage on the 

' CO © 

banks of the river Yeguas, to be brought after 
them. This march was principally in the night ; 
sill day they remained quiet ; no noise was suf- 



30 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

fered in their camp, and no fires were made, lest 
the smoke should betray them. On the third 
day they resumed their march as the evening 
darkened, and forcing themselves forward at as 
quick a pace as the rugged and dangerous moun- 
tain roads would permit, they descended towards 
midnight into a small deep valley, only half a 
league from Alhama. Here they made a halt, 
fatigued by this forced march, during a long dark 
evening towards the end of February. 

The marques of Cadiz now explained to the 
troops the object of the expedition. He told them 
it was for the glory of the most holy faith, and 
to avenge the wrongs of their countrymen at 
Zahara; and that the town of Alhama, full of 
wealthy spoil, was the place to be attacked. The 
troops were roused to new ardor by these words, 
and desired to be led forthwith to the assault. 
They arrived close to Alhama about two hours 
before daybreak. Here the army remained in 
ambush, while three hundred men were dispatched 
to scale the walls and get possession of the castle. 
They were picked men, many of them alcaydes 
and officers, men who preferred death to dishonor. 
This gallant band was guided by the escalador 
Ortega de Prado, at the head of thirty men with 
scaling-ladders. They clambered the ascent to 
the castle in silence, and arrived under the dark 
shadow of its towers without being discovered. 
Not a light was to be seen, not a sound to be 
heard ; the whole place was wrapped in profound 
repose. 

Fixing their ladders, they ascended cautiously 



A NIGHT ATTACK. 31 

and with noiseless steps. Ortega was the first 
that mounted upon the battlements, followed by 
one Martin Galindo, a youthful esquire, full of 
spirit and eager for distinction. Moving stealthily 
along the parapet to the portal of the citadel, they 
came upon the sentinel by surprise. Ortega 
seized him by the throat, brandished a dagger 
before his eyes, and ordered him to point the way 
to the guard-room. The infidel obeyed, and was 
instantly dispatched, to prevent his giving an 
alarm. The guard-room was a scene rather of 
massacre than combat. Some of the soldiery 
were killed while sleeping, others were cut down 
almost without resistance, bewildered by so un- 
expected an assault : all were dispatched, for the 
scaling party was too small to make prisoners or 
to spare. The alarm spread throughout the 
castle, but by this time the three hundred picked 
men had mounted the battlements. The garrison, 
startled from sleep, found the enemy already 
masters of the towers. Some of the Moors were 
cut down at once, others fought desperately from 
room to room, and the whole castle resounded 
with the clash of arms, the cries of the combat- 
ants, and the groans of the wounded. The army 
in ambush, finding by the uproar that the castle 
was surprised, now rushed from their concealment, 
and approached the walls with loud shouts, and 
sound of kettle-drums and trumpets, to increase 
the confusion and dismay of the garrison. A 
violent conflict took place in the court of the 
castle, where several of the scaling party sought 
to throw open the gates to admit their country- 



32 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

men. Here fell two valiant alcaydes, Nicholas 
de Roja and Sancho de Avila ; but they fell honor- 
ably, upon a heap of slain. At length Ortega de 
Prado succeeded in throwing open a postern, 
through which the marques of Cadiz, the ade- 
lantado of Andalusia, and Don Diego de Merlo, 
entered with a host of followers, and the citadel 
remained in full possession of the Christians. 

As the Spanish cavaliers were ranging from 
room to room, the marques of Cadiz, entering an 
apartment of superior richness to the rest, beheld, 
by the light of a silver lamp, a beautiful Moorish 
female, the wife of the alcayde of the castle, 
whose husband was absent, attending a wedding 
feast at Velez Malaga. She would have fled at 
the sight of a Christian warrior in her apartment, 
but, entangled in the covering of the bed, she fell 
at the feet of the marques, imploring mercy. 
That Christian cavalier, who had a soul full of 
honor and courtesy towards the sex, raised her 
from the floor, and endeavored to allay her fears ; 
but they were increased at the sight of her female 
attendants, pursued into the room by the Spanish 
soldiery. The marques reproached his soldiers 
with unmanly conduct, and reminded them that 
they made war upon men, not on defenseless 
women. Having soothed the terrors of the 
females by the promise of honorable protection, 
he appointed a trusty guard to watch over the se- 
curity of their apartment. 

The castle was now taken ; but the town below 
it was in arms. It was broad day, and the people, 
recovered from their panic, were enabled to see 



A FIGHT BY DAYLIGHT. S3 

and estimate the force of the enemy. The inhab- 
itants were chiefly merchants and tradespeople ; 
but the Moors all possessed a knowledge of the 
use of weapons, and were of brave and warlike 
spirit. They confided in the strength of their 
walls, and the certainty of speedy relief from 
Granada, which was but about eight leagues dis- 
tant. Manning the battlements and towers, they 
discharged showers -of stones and arrows, when- 
ever the part of the Christian army, without the 
walls, attempted to approach. They barricadoed 
the entrances of their streets, also, which opened 
towards the castle ; stationing men expert at the 
cross-bow and arquebuse. These kept up a con- 
stant fire upon the gate of the castle, so that no 
one could sally forth without being instantly shot 
down. Two valiant cavaliers, who attempted to 
lead forth a party in defiance of this fatal tempest, 
were shot dead at the very portal. ' 

The Christians now found themselves in a 
situation of great peril. Reinforcements must 
soon arrive to the enemy from Granada ; unless, 
therefore, they gained possession of the town in 
the course of the day, they were likely to be sur- 
rounded and beleaguered, without provisions, in 
the castle. Some observed that, even if they 
took the town, they should not be able to maintain 
possession of it. They proposed, therefore, to 
make booty of everything valuable, to sack the 
castle, set it on fire, and make good their retreat 
to Seville. 

The marques of Cadiz was of different counsel. 

u God has given the citadel into Christian hands, '* 
3 



34 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

said he ; " he will no doubt strengthen them to 
maintain it. We have gained the place with 
difficulty and bloodshed ; it would be a stain upon 
our honor to abandon it through fear of imaginary 
dangers." The adelantado and Don Diego de 
Merlo joined in his opinion ; but without their 
earnest and united remonstrances, the place would 
have been abandoned ; so exhausted were the 
troops by forced marches arid hard fighting, and 
so apprehensive of the approach of the Moors of 
Granada. 

The strength and spirits of the party within 
the castle, were in some degree restored by the 
provisions which they found. The Christian army 
beneath the town, being also refreshed by a morn- 
ing's repast, advanced vigorously to the attack of 
the walls. They planted their scaling-ladders, 
and, swarming up, sword in hand, fought fiercely 
with the Moorish soldiery upon the ramparts. 

In the meantime, the marques of Cadiz, seeing 
that the gate of the castle, which opened toward 
the city, was completely commanded by the artil- 
lery of the enemy, ordered a large breach to be 
made in the wall, through which he might lead 
his troops to the attack ; animating them, in this 
perilous moment, by assuring them that the place 
should be given up to plunder, and its inhabitants 
made captives. 

The breach being made, the marques put him- 
self at the head of his troops, and entered sword 
in hand. A simultaneous attack was made by 
the Christians in every part — by the ramparts, 
by the gate, by the roofs and walls which con 



CAP TUBE OF THE CITY. 35 

nected the castle with the town. The Moors 
fought valiantly in their streets, from their win- 
dows, and from the tops of their houses. They 
were not equal to the Christians in bodily 
strength, for they were for the most part peace- 
ful men. of industrious callings, and enervated 
by the frequent use of the warm bath ; but they 
were superior in number, and unconquerable in 
spirit ; old and young, strong and weak, fought 
with the same desperation. The Moors fought 
for property, for liberty, for life. They fought at 
their thresholds and their hearths, with the 
shrieks of their wives and children ringing in 
their ears, and they fought in the hope that each 
moment would bring aid from .Granada. They 
regarded neither their own wounds nor the death 
of. their companions ; but continued fighting until 
they fell, and seemed as if, when they could no 
longer contend, they would block up the thresh- 
olds of their beloved homes with their mangled 
bodies. The Christians fought for glory, for re- 
venge, for the holy faith, and for the spoil of 
these wealthy infidels. Success would place a 
rich town at their mercy ; failure would deliver 
them into the hands of the tyrant of Granada. 

The contest raged from morning until night, 
w r hen the Moors began to yield. Retreating to 
a large mosque near the walls, they kept up so 
galling a fire from it with lances, cross-bows, and 
arquebuses, that for some time the Christians 
dared not approach. Covering themselves, at 
length, with bucklers and mantelets, 1 to protect 

l Mantelet — a movable parapet, made of thick planks, to 



36 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

them from the deadly shower, the latter made 
their way to the mosque, and set fire to the 
doors. When the smoke and flames rolled in 
upon them, the Moors gave up all as lost. Many 
rushed forth desperately upon the enemy, but 
were immediately slain : the rest surrendered 
themselves captives. 

The struggle was now at an end ; the town 
remained at the mercy of the Christians ; and 
the inhabitants, both male and female, became 
the slaves of those who made them prisoners. 
Some few escaped by a mine or subterranean 
way, which led to the river, and concealed them- 
selves, their wives and children, in caves and 
secret places ; but in three or four days were 
compelled to surrender themselves through hun- 
ger. 

The town was given up to plunder, and the 
booty was immense. There were found prodig- 
ious quantities of gold and silver, and jewels, and 
rich silks, and costly stuffs of all kinds ; together 
with horses and beeves, and abundance of grain 
and oil, and honey, and all other productions of 
this fruitful kingdom ; for in Alhama were col- 
lected the royal rents and tributes of the sur- 
rounding country ; it was the richest town in the 
Moorish territory, and, from its great strength 
and its peculiar situation, was called the key to 
Granada. 

Great waste and devastation were committed 
by the Spanish soldiery ; for, thinking it would 

protect troops when advancing to sap or assault a walled 
place. 



CONDUCT OF THE VICTORS, 37 

be impossible to keep possession of the place, 
they began to destroy whatever they could not 
take away. Immense jars of oil were broken, 
costly furniture shattered to pieces, and maga- 
zines of grain broken open, and their contents 
scattered to the winds. Many Christian cap- 
tives, who had been taken at Zahara, were found 
buried in a Moorish dungeon, and were trium- 
phantly restored to light and liberty; and a rene- 
gado Spaniard, who had often served as guide to 
the Moors in their incursions into the Christian 
territories, was hanged on the highest part of the 
battlements, for the edification of the army. 





CHAPTER VI. 

How the People of Granada were affected, on hearing of the 
Capture of Alhama; and how the Moorish King sallied 
forth to regain it. 




MOORISH horseman had spurred 
across the vega, nor reined his pant- 
ing steed until he alighted at the gate 
of the Alhambra. He brought tidings to Muley 
Abul Hassan of the attack upon Alhama. " The 
Christians," said he, "are in the land. They 
came upon us, we know not whence or how, and 
scaled the walls of the castle in the night. There 
has been dreadful fighting and carnage in its 
towers and courts ; and when I spurred my 
steed from the gate of Alhama, the castle was in 
possession of the unbelievers." 

Muley Abul Hassan felt for a moment as if 
swift retribution had come upon him for the woes 
he had inflicted upon Zahara. Still he flattered 
himself that this had only been some transient 
inroad of a party of marauders, intent upon 
plunder ; and that a little succor, thrown into the 
town, would be sufficient to expel them from the 
castle, and drive them from the land. He or- 
dered out, therefore, a thousand of his chosen 
cavalry, and sent them in all speed to the assist- 



WOE fS ME, ALE AM A I 39 

ance of Alhama. They arrived before its walls 
the morning after its capture ; the Christian 
standards floated upon its towers, and a body of 
cavalry poured forth from its gates and came 
wheeling down into the plain to receive them. 

The Moorish horsemen turned the reins of 
their steeds, and galloped back for Granada, 
They entered its gates in tumultuous confusion, 
spreading terror and lamentation by their tidings. 
" Alhama is fallen ! Alhama is fallen ! " exclaimed 
they ; " the Christians garrison its walls ; the key 
of Granada is in the hands of the enemy ! " 

When the people heard these words, they re- 
membered the denunciation of the santon. His 
prediction seemed still to resound in every ear. 
and its fulfillment to be at hand. Nothing was 
heard throughout the city but sighs and wailings. 
" Woe is me, Alhama ! " was in every mouth ; 
and this ejaculation of deep sorrow and doleful 
foreboding, came to be the burthen of a plaintive 
ballad, which remains until the present day. 1 

Many aged men, who had taken refuge in 
Granada from other Moorish dominions which 
had fallen into the power of the Christians, now 
groaned in despair at the thoughts that war was 
to follow them into this last retreat, to lay waste 
this pleasant land, and to bring trouble and sor- 
row upon their declining years. The women 
were more loud and vehement in their grief; for 
they beheld the evils impending over their chil- 

1 The mournful little Spanish romance of Ayde mi Alhama! 
is supposed to be of ^Moorish origin, and to embody the grief 
of the people of Granada on this occasion. 



40 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

dren, and what can restrain the agony of a 
mother's heart? Many of them made their way 
through the halls of the Alhambra into the pres- 
ence of the -king, weeping, and wailing, and tear- 
ing their hair. " Accursed be the day," cried 
they, " that thou hast lit the flame of war in our 
land ! May the holy Prophet bear witness be- 
fore Allah that we and our children are innocent 
Df this act ! Upon thy head, and .upon the heads 
of thy posterity, until the end of the world, rest 
the sin of the desolation of Zahara ! " 1 

Muley Abul Hassan remained unmoved amidst 
all this storm ; his heart was hardened (observes 
Fray Antonio Agapida) like that of Pharaoh, to 
the end that, through his blind violence and rage, 
he might produce the deliverance of the land 
from its heathen bondage. In fact, he was a 
bold and fearless warrior, and trusted soon to 
make this blow recoil upon the head of the enemy. 
He had ascertained that the captors of Alhama 
were but a handful: they were in the centre of 
his dominions, within a short distance of his cap- 
ital. They were deficient in munitions of war 
and provisions for sustaining a siege. By a 
rapid movement he might surround them with a 
powerful army, cut off all aid from their coun- 
trymen, and entrap them in the fortress they had 
taken. 

To think was to act, with Muley Abul Has- 
san ; but he was prone to act with too much pre- 
cipitation. He immediately set forth in person, 
with three thousand horse and fifty thousand foot, 
1 Garibay, lib. 40, c. 29. 



MARCH OF AG HILAR. 41 

and, in his eagerness to arrive at the scene of 
action, would not wait to provide artillery and 
the various engines required in a siege. " The 
multitude of my forces," said he, confidently, 
" will be sufficient to overwhelm the enemy." 

The marques of Cadiz, who thus held posses- 
sion of Alhama, had a chosen friend and faithful 
companion in arms, among the most distinguished 
of the Christian, chivalry. This was Don Alonzo 
de Cordova, senior and lord of the house of 
Aguilar, and brother of Gonsalvo of Cordova, 
afterwards renowned as Grand Captain of Spain. 
As yet, Alonzo de Aguilar was the glory of his 
name and race — for his brother was but young 
in arms. He was one of the most hardy, val- 
iant, and enterprising of the Spanish knights, 
and foremost in all service of a perilous and ad- 
venturous nature. He had not been at hand, to 
accompany his friend, Fonce de Leon, marques 
of Cadiz, in his inroad into the Moorish terri- 
tory ; but he hastily assembled a number of re- 
tainers, horse and foot, and pressed forward to 
join the enterprise. Arriving at the river Ye- 
guas, he found the baggage of the army still 
upon its banks, and took charge of it to carry it 
to Alhama. The marques of Cadiz heard of 
the approach of his friend, whose march was 
slow in consequence of being encumbered by the 
baggage. He was within but a few leagues of 
Alhama, when scouts came hurrying into the 
place, with intelligence that the Moorish king was 
at hand with a powerful army. The marques 
of Cadiz was filled with alarm lest De Aguilar 



42 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 






should fall into the hands of the enemy. For- 
getting his own danger, and thinking only of 
that of his friend, he dispatched a well-mounted 
messenger to ride full speed, and warn him not 
to approach. 

The first determination of Alonzo de Aguilar, 
when he heard that the Moorish king was at 
hand, was to take a strong position in the moun- 
tains, and await his coming. The madness of 
an attempt with his handful of men to oppose an 
immense army, was represented to him with such 
force as to induce him to abandon the idea ; he 
then thought of throwing himself into Alhama, 
to share the fortunes of his friend : but it was 
now too late. The Moor would infallibly inter- 
cept him, and he should only give the marques 
the additional distress of beholding him captured 
beneath his walls. It was even urged upon him 
that he had no time for delay, if. he would con- 
sult his own safety, which could only be insured 
by an immediate retreat into the Christian terri- 
tory. This last opinion was confirmed by the 
return of scouts, who brought information that 
Muley Abul Hassan had received notice of his 
movements, and was rapidly advancing in quest 
of him. It was with infinite reluctance that 
Don Alonzo de Aguilar yielded to these united 
and powerful reasons. Proudly and sullenly he 
drew off his forces, laden with the baggage of 
the army, and made an unwilling retreat towards 
Antiquera. Muley Abul Hassan pursued him 
for some distance through the mountains, but 
goon gave up the chase, and turned with his 
forces upon Alhama. 



SIEGE OF ALBAMA. 43 

As the army approached the town, they beheld 
the fields strewn with the dead bodies of the* 
countrymen, who had fallen in defense of the 
place/and had been cast forth and left unbuned 
by the Christians. There they lay, mangled and 
exposed to every indignity; while droves of hal - 
famished dogs were preying upon them, and fight- 
in* and howling over their hideous repast. * u~ 
rious at the sight, the Moors, in the first transports 
of their rage, attacked those ravenous animals : 
their next measure was to vent their fury upon 
the Christians. They rushed like madmen to the 
walls, applied scaling-ladders in all parts, without 
waiting for the necessary mantelets and other pro- 
tections-thinking, by attacking suddenly and 
at various points, to distract the enemy, and over- 
come them by the force of numbers 

The marques of Cadiz, with his confederate 
commanders, distributed themselves along the 
walls, to direct and animate their men in the de- 
fense. The Moors, in their blind fury, often as- 
sailed the most difficult and dangerous places. 
Darts, stones, and all kinds of missiles, were hurled 
down upon their defenseless heads. As last as 
they mounted, they were cut down, or dashed from 
the battlements, their ladders overturned and all 
who were on them precipitated headlong below. 
Muley Abul Hassan stormed with passion a 
the sight ; he sent detachment after detachment 
to scale the walls -but in vain; they werelike 
waves rushing upon a rock, only to dash them- 
gelves to pieces. The Moors lay in heaps beneath 
i Pulgar Cronica. 



44 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the wall, and among them many of the bravest 
cavaliers of Granada. The Christians, also, sal- 
lied frequently from the gates, and made great 
havoc in the irregular multitude of assailants. 

Muley Abul Hassair now became sensible of 
his error in hurrying from Granada without the 
proper engines for a siege. Destitute of all means 
to batter the fortifications, the town remained un- 
injured, defying the mighty army which raged 
and roamed before it. Incensed at being thus 
foiled, Muley Abul Hassan gave orders to under- 
mine the walls. The Moors advanced with shouts 
to the attempt. They were received with a deadly 
lire from the ramparts, which drove them from 
their works. Repeatedly were they repulsed, and 
repeatedly did they return to the charge. The 
Christians not merely galled them from the bat- 
tlements, but issued forth and cut them down in 
the excavations they were attempting to form. 
The contest lasted throughout a whole day, and 
by evening two thousand Moors were either killed 
or wounded. 

Muley Abul Hassan now abandoned all hope 
of carrying the place by assault, and attempted to 
distress it into terms by turning the channel of 
the river which runs by its walls. On this stream 
the inhabitants depended for their supply of water ; 
the place being destitute of fountains and cisterns, 
from which circumstances it is called Alhama la 
seca, or u the dry." 

A desperate conflict ensued on the banks of the 
river, the Moors endeavoring to plant palisades in 
its bed to divert the stream, and the Christiana 



SIEGE OF ALHAMa. 45 

striving to prevent them. The Spanish comman- 
ders exposed themselves to the utmost danger to 
animate their men, who were repeatedly driven 
back into the town. The marques of Cadiz was 
often up to his knees in the stream, fighting hand 
to hand with the Moors. The water ran red with 
blood, and was encumbered with dead bodies. 
At length, the overwhelming numbers of the 
Moors gave them the advantage, and they suc- 
ceeded in diverting the greater part of the water. 
The Christians had to struggle severely, to supply 
themselves from the feeble rill which remained. 
They sallied to the river by a subterraneous pas- 
sage ; but the Moorish cross-bowmen stationed 
themselves on the opposite bank, keeping up a 
heavy fire upon the Christians, whenever they 
attempted to fill their vessels' from the scanty and 
turbid stream. One party of the Christians had, 
therefore, to fight, while another drew water. At 
all hours of the day and night, this deadly strife 
was maintained, until it seemed as if every drop 
of water were purchased with a drop of blood. 

In the mean time the sufferings of the town 
became intense. None but the soldiery and their 
horses were allowed the precious beverage so 
dearly earned, and even that in quantities that 
only tantalized their wants. The wounded, who 
could not sally to procure it, were almost desti- 
tute ; while the unhappy prisoners, shut up in 
the mosques, were reduced to frightful extremi- 
ties. Many perished raving mad, fancying them- 
selves swimming in boundless seas, yet unable to 
assuage their thirst. Many of the soldiers lay 



46 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

parched and panting along the battlements, no 
longer able to draw a Lowstring or hurl a stone ; 
while above „ve thousand Moors, stationed upon 
a rocky height which overlooked part of the town, 
kept up a galling fire into it with slings and cross- 
bows ; so that the marques of Cadiz was obliged 
to heighten the battlements, by using the doors 
from the private dwellings. 

The Christian cavaliers, exposed to this ex- 
treme peril, and in imminent danger of falling into 
the hands of the enemy, dispatched fleet messen- 
gers to Seville and Cordova, entreating the chiv- 
alry of Andalusia to hasten to their aid. They 
sent likewise, imploring assistance from the king 
and queen, who at that time held their court in 
Medina del Campo. In the midst of their dis- 
tress, a tank or cistern of water was fortunately 
discovered in the city, which gave temporary re- 
lief to their sufferings. 




CHAPTER VII. 




How the Duke of Medina Sidonia, and the Chivalry of Andft. 
lusia, hastened to the Relief of Alhama. 

HE perilous situation of the Christian 
cavaliers pent up and beleaguered within 
the walls of Alhama, spread terror 
among their friends, and anxiety throughout all 
Andalusia. Nothing, however could equal the 
anguish of the marchioness of Cadiz, the wife of 
the gallant Eoderigo Ponce de Leon. In her 
deep distress, she looked round for some power- 
ful noble, who had the means of rousing the coun- 
try to the assistance of her husband. No one 
appeared more competent for the purpose than 
Don Juan de Guzman, the duke of Medina Sido- 
nia. He was one of the most wealthy and puis- 
sant grandees of Spain ; his possessions extended 
over some of the most fertile parts of Andalusia, 
embracing towns, and sea-ports, and numerous 
villages. Here he reigned in feudal state, like a 
petty sovereign, and could at any time bring into 
the field an immense force of vassals and retain- 
ers. 

The duke of Medina Sidonia and the marques 
of Cadiz, however, were at this time deadly foes. 
An hereditary feud existed between them, which 



48 lONQUESI OF GRANADA. 

had often arisen to bloodshed and open war; for 
as yet the fierce contests between the proud and 
puissant Spanish nobles had not been completely 
quelled by the power of the crown, and in this 
respect they exerted a right of sovereignty, in 
leading their vassals against each other in open 
field. 

The duke of Medina Sidonia would have ap- 
peared, to many, the very last person to whom to 
apply for aid of the marques of Cadiz ; but the 
marchioness judged of him by the standard of 
her own high and generous mind. She knew 
him to be a gallant and courteous knight, and had 
already experienced the magnanimity of his spirit, 
having been relieved by him when besieged by 
the Moors in her husband's fortress of Arcos. To 
the duke, therefore, she applied in this moment 
of sudden calamity, imploring him to furnish 
succor to her husband. The event showed how 
well noble spirits understand each other. No 
sooner did the duke receive this appeal from the 
wife of his enemy, than he generously forgot all 
feeling of animosity, and determined to go in 
person to his succor. He immediately dispatched 
a courteous letter to the marchioness, assuring her 
that in consideration of the request of so honor- 
able and estimable a lady, and to rescue from 
peril so valiant a cavalier as her husband, whose 
loss would be great, not only to Spain, but to all 
Christendom, he would forego the recollection of 
all past grievances, and hasten to his relief with 
all the forces he could raise. 

The duke wrote at the same time to the al* 



SIEGE OF ALE AM A. 49 

caydes of his towns and fortresses, ordering them 
to join him forthwith at Seville, with all the 
forces they could spare from their garrisons. He 
called on all the chivalry of Andalusia to make 
a common cause in the rescue of those Christian 
cavaliers, and he offered large pay to all volun- 
teers who would resort to him with horses, armor, 
and provisions. Thus all who could be incited by 
honor, religion, patriotism, or thirst of gain, were 
induced to hasten to his standard, and he took the 
field with an army of five thousand horse and 
fifty thousand foot. 1 Many cavaliers of distin- 
guished name accompanied him in this generous 
enterprise. Among these was the redoubtable 
Alonzo de Aguilar, the chosen friend of the 
marques of Cadiz, and with him his younger 
brother, Gonsalvo Fernandez de Cordova, after- 
wards renowned as the Grand Captain ; Don Ro- 
derigo Giron, also, Master of the order of Cala- 
trava, together with Martin Alonzo de Monte- 
mayor, and the marques De Villena, esteemed 
the best lance in Spain. It was a gallant and 
splendid army, comprising the flower of Spanish 
chivalry, and poured forth in brilliant array from 
the gates of Seville, bearing the great standard 
of that ancient and renowned city. 

Ferdinand and Isabella were at Medina del 
Campo, when tidings came of the capture of Al- 
bania. The king was at mass when he received 
the news, and ordered Te Deum to be chanted for 
this signal triumph of the holy faith. When the 

1 Croniea de Los Duques de Medina Sidonia, por Pedro de 
Medina, MS. 

4 



50 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



! 



first flush of triumph had subsided, and the king 
learnt the imminent peril of the valorous Ponce 
de Leon and his companions, and the great danger 
that this stronghold might again be wrested from 
their grasp, he resolved to hurry in person to the 
scene of action. So pressing appeared to him the 
emergency, that he barely gave himself time to 
take a hasty repast while horses were providing, 
and then departed at furious speed for Andalusia, 
leaving a request for the queen to follow him. 1 
He was attended by Don Beltram de la Cueva, 
duke of Albuquerque, Don Inigo Lopez de Men- 
doza, count of Tendilla, and Don Pedro Mauriques, 
count of Trevino, with a few more cavaliers of 
prowess and distinction. He travelled by forced 
journeys, frequently changing his jaded horses, 
being eager to arrive in time to take command 
of the Andalusian chivalry. When he arrived 
within Ave leagues of Cordova, the duke of 
Albuquerque remonstrated with him upon enter- 
ing, with such incautious haste, into the enemies' 
country. He represented to him that there were 
troops enough assembled to succor Alhama, and 
that it was not for him to venture his royal person 
in doing what could be done by his subjects ; 
especially as he had such valiant and experienced 
captains to act for him. " Besides, sire," added 
the duke, " your majesty should bethink you that 
the troops about to take the field are mere men 
of Andalusia, whereas your illustrious predecessors 
never made an inroad into the territory of the 
Moors, without being accompanied by a powerful 
1 Illescas, Hist. Pontifical 



SIEGE OF ALHAMA. 51 

force of the stanch and iron warriors of old 
Castile." 

u Duke/' replied the king, " jour counsel might 
have been good, had I not departed from Medina 
with the avowed determination of succoring these 
cavaliers in person. I am now near the end of 
my journey, and it would be beneath my dignity 
to change my intention, before even I had met 
with an impediment. I shall take the troops of 
this country who are assembled, without waiting 
for those of Castile, and with the aid of God, 
shall prosecute my journey." 1 

As King Ferdinand approached Cordova, the 
principal inhabitants came forth to receive him. 
Learning, however, that the duke of Medina 
Sidonia was already on the march, and pressing 
forward into the territory of the Moors, the king 
was all on fire to overtake him, and to lead iii 
person the succor to Alhama. Without entering 
Cordova, therefore, he exchanged his weary 
horses for those of the inhabitants who had come 
forth to meet him, and pressed forward for the 
army. He dispatched fleet couriers in advance, 
requesting the duke of Medina Sidonia to await 
his coming, that he might take command of the 
forces. 

Neither the duke nor his companions in arms, 
however, felt inclined to pause in their generous 
expedition, and gratify the inclinations of the 
king. They sent back missives, representing that 
they were far within the enemies' frontier, and it 
was dangerous either to pause or turn back. They 
1 Pulgar, Cronica, p. 3. cap. 3. 



52 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

had likewise received pressing entreaties from the 
besieged to hasten their speed, setting forth their 
great sufferings, and their hourly peril of being 
overwhelmed by the enemy. 

The king was at Ponton del Maestre, when he 
received these missives. So inflamed was he with 
zeal for the success of this enterprise, that he 
would have penetrated into the kingdom of Gra- 
nada with the handful of cavaliers who accom- 
panied him, but they represented the rashness of 
such a journey, through the mountainous defiles 
of a hostile country, thickly beset with towns 
and castles. With some difficulty, therefore, he 
was dissuaded from his inclination, and prevailed 
upon to await tidings from the army, in the frontier 
city of Antiquera. 







CHAPTER VIH. 

Sequel of the Events at Alhama. 



HILE all Andalusia was thus in arms 
and pouring its chivalry through the 
i^iiijjl l mountain passes of the Moorish fron- 
tiers, the garrison of Alhama was reduced to great 
extremity, and in danger of sinking under its 
sufferings before the promised succor could arrive. 
The intolerable thirst that prevailed in conse- 
quence of the scarcity of water, the incessant 
watch that had to be maintained over the vast 
force of enemies without, and the great number 
of prisoners within, and the wounds which almost 
every soldier had received in the incessant skir- 
mishes and assaults, had worn grievously both 
flesh and spirit. The noble Ponce de Leon, 
marques of Cadiz, still animated the soldiery, 
however, by word and example, sharing every 
hardship, and being foremost in every danger ; 
exemplifying that a good commander is the vital 
spirit of an army. 

When Muley Abul Hassan heard of the vast 
force that was approaching under the command 
of the duke of Medina Sidonia, and that Ferdi- 
nand was coming in person with additional troops, 
he perceived that no time was to be lost: Al- 



54 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

hama must be carried by one powerful attack, or 
abandoned entirely to the Christians. 

A number of Moorish cavaliers, some of the 
bravest youth of Granada, knowing the wishes 
of the king, proposed to undertake a desperate 
enterprise, which, if successful, must put Alhama 
in his power. Early one morning, when it was 
scarcely the gray of the dawn, about the time of 
changing the watch, these cavaliers approached 
the town, at a place considered inaccessible, from 
the steepness of the rocks on which the wall 
was founded; which it was supposed, elevated 
the battlements beyond the reach of the longest 
scaling-ladder. The Moorish knights, aided by a 
number of the strongest and most active escalad- 
ors, mounted these rocks, and applied the ladders, 
without being discovered ; for, to divert attention 
from them, Muley Abul Hassan made a false at- 
tack upon the town in another quarter. 

The scaling party mounted with difficulty, and 
in small numbers ; the sentinel was killed at his 
post, and seventy of the Moors made their way 
into the streets before an alarm was given. The 
guards rushed to the walls, to stop the hostile 
throng that was still pouring in. A sharp con- 
flict, hand to hand and man to man, took place on 
the battlements, and many on both sides fell. 
The Moors, whether wounded or slain, were 
thrown headlong without the walls ; the scaling- 
ladders were overturned, and those who were 
mounting were dashed upon the rocks, and from 
thence tumbled upon the plain. Thus, in a little 
while, the ramparts were cleared by Christian 



SEQUEL OF EVENTS AT ALE AM A 55 

prowess, led on by that valiant knight Don 
Aionzo Ponce, the nncle, and that brave esquire 
Pedro Pineda, nephew of the marques of Cadiz. 

The walls being cleared, these two kindred 
cavaliers now hastened with their forces in pur- 
suit of the seventy Moors, who had gained an 
entrance into the town. The main party of the 
garrison being engaged at a distance resisting the 
feigned attack of the Moorish king, this fierce 
band of infidels had ranged the streets almost 
without opposition, and were making their way 
to the gates to throw them open to the army. 1 
They were chosen men from among the Moorish 
forces, several of them gallant knights, of the 
proudest families of Granada. Their footsteps 
through the city were in a manner printed in 
blood, and they were tracked by the bodies of 
those they had killed and wounded. They had 
attained the gate ; most of the guard had fallen 
beneath their scimetars ; a moment more, and 
Alhama would have been thrown open to the 
enemy. 

Just at this juncture, Don Aionzo Ponce and 
Pedro de Pineda reached the spot with their 
forces. The Moors had the enemy in front and 
rear ; they placed themselves back to back, with 
their banner in the centre. In this way they 
fought with desperate and deadly determination, 
making a rampart around them with the slain. 
More Christian troops arrived, and hemmed them 
in ; but still they fought, without asking for quar- 
ter. As their numbers decreased, they serried 

iZurita, lib. 20, c. 43. 



56 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

their circle still closer ; defending their bannei 
from assault ; and the last Moor died at his post, 
grasping the standard of the prophet. This stan- 
dard was displayed from the walls, and the tur- 
baned heads of the Moors were thrown down to 
the besiegers. 1 

Muley Abul Hassan tore his beard with rage 
at the failure of this attempt, and at the death of 
so many of his chosen cavaliers. He saw that 
all further effort was in vain ; his scouts brought 
word that they had seen from the heights the 
long columns and flaunting banners of the Chris- 
tian army approaching through the mountains. 
To linger, would be to place himself between two 
bodies of the enemy. Breaking up his camp, 
therefore, in all haste, he gave up the siege of 
Alhama, and hastened back to Granada; and 
the last clash of his cymbals scarce died upon 
the ear from the distant hills, before the stan- 
dard of the duke of Medina Sidonia was seen 
emerging in another direction from the defiles of 
the mountains. 

When the Christians in Alhama beheld their 
enemies retreating on one side, and their friends 
advancing on the other, they uttered shouts of joy 
and hymns of thanksgiving, for it was as a sud- 
den relief from present death. Harassed by sev- 
eral weeks of incessant vigil and fighting, suffer- 
ing from scarcity of provisions and almost contin- 

1 Pedro de Pineda received the honor of knighthood from 
the hand of king Ferdinand, for his valor on this occasion 
(Alonzo Ponce was already knight). — See Zuiiiga, Annals of 
8tsville, lib. 12, an. 1482. 



SPANISH CHIVALRY. 57 

oal thirst, they resembled skeletons rather than 
Sing men. It was a noble and gracious spectacle 
-the meeting of those hitherto inveterate foes, 
the duke of Medina Sidonia and the marques oi 
Cadiz At sight of his magnanimous deliverer 
the marques melted into tears : all past annui- 
ties only gave the greater poignancy to present 
feelings of gratitude and admiration, lhe late 
deadly rivals clasped each other in their arms, 
and from that time forward were true and cor- 

dial friends. . 

While this generous scene took place between 
the commanders, a sordid contest arose among 
their troops. The soldiers who had come to the 
rescue claimed a portion of the spoils of Alhama; 
and so violent was the dispute, that both parties 
seized their arms. The dukeof Medma Sidonia 
interfered, and settled the question with his char- 
acteristic magnanimity. He declared that he 
spoil belonged to those who had captured the 
C L u W e have taken the field," said he, " only 
for honor, for religion, and for the rescue of our 
countrymen and fellow Christians; and the suc- 
cess of our enterprise is a sufficient and a glorious 
reward. If we desire booty, there are sufficient 
Moorish cities yet to be taken, to enrich us all. 
The soldiers were convinced by the frank and 
chivalrous reasoning of the dnke ; they replied to 
his speech by acclamations, and the transient 
broil was happily appeased. ,u n „„ ht 

The marchioness of Cadiz, with the forethought 
of a loving wife, had dispatched her major-domo 
with the army, with a large supply of provisions. 



58 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Tables were immediately spread beneath the tents, 
where the marques gave a banquet to the duke 
and the cavaliers who had accompanied him, and 
nothing but hilarity prevailed in this late scene 
of suffering and death. 

A garrison of fresh troops was left at Alhama 
and the veterans who had so valiantly captured 
and maintained it, returned to their homes, bur- 
dened with precious booty. The marques and 
duke, and their confederate cavaliers, repaired to 
Antiquera, where they were received with great 
distinction by the king, who honored the marques 
of Cadiz with signal marks of favor. The duke 
then accompanied his late enemy, but now most 
zealous and grateful friend, the marques of Cadiz, 
to his town of Marchena, where he received the 
reward of his generous conduct, in the thanks 
and blessings of the marchioness. The marques 
celebrated a sumptuous feast, in honor of his 
guest ; for a day and night his palace was thrown 
open, and was the scene of continual revel and 
festivity. When the duke departed for his es- 
tates at St. Lucar, the marques attended him for 
some distance on his journey ; and when they 
separated, it was as the parting scene of brothers. 
Such was the noble spectacle exhibited to the 
chivalry of Spain, by these two illustrious rivals. 
Each reaped universal renown from the part he 
had performed in the campaign ; the marques, 
from having surprised and captured one of the 
most important and formidable fortresses of the 
kingdom of Granada ; and the duke, from having 
subdued his deadliest foe, by a great act of lnag- 
nauimitv. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Events at Granada, and rise of the Moorish King 
Boabdil el Chico. 




HE Moorish king, Abul Hassan^ returned, 
baffled and disappointed, from before the 
walls of Alhama, and was received with 
groans and smothered execrations by the people 
of Granada. The prediction of the santon was in 
every mouth, and appeared to be rapidly fulfilling; 
for the enemy was already strongly fortified in Al- 
hama, in the very heart of the kingdom. At the 
same time the nobles who had secretly conspired to 
depose the old king and elevate his son Boabdil to 
the throne, had matured their plans, in concert 
with the prince, who had been joined in Guadix 
by hosts of adherents. An opportunity soon pre- 
sented to carry their plans into operation. 

Muley Abul Hassan had a royal country pal- 
ace, with gardens and fountains, called the Alix- 
ares, situated on the Cerro del Sol, or Mountain 
of the Sun ; a height, the ascent to which leads 
up from the Alhambra, but which towers far 
above that fortress, and looks down as from the 
clouds upon it, and upon the subjacent city of 
Granada. It was a favorite retreat of the Moor- 
ish kings, to inhale the pure mountain breezes, 



60 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and leave far below the din and turmoil of the 
city. Muley Abul Hassan had passed a day 
among its bowers, in company with his favorite 
wife, Zoraya, when towards evening he heard a 
strange sound rising from the city, like the gath- 
ering of a storm, or the sullen roar of the ocean. 
Apprehensive of evil, he ordered the officers of 
his guard to descend with all speed to the city, 
and reconnoitre. The intelligence brought back 
was astounding. A civil war was raging in the 
city. Boabdil had been brought from Guadix by 
the conspirators, the foremost of whom were the 
gallant race of the Abencerrages. He had en- 
tered the Albaycin in triumph, and been hailed 
with rapture, and proclaimed king in that pop- 
ulous quarter of the city. Abul Cacim Vanegas, 
the vizier at the head of the royal guards, 
had attacked the rebels ; and the noise which had 
alarmed the king, was the din of fighting in the 
streets and squares. 

Muley Abul Hassan hastened to descend to 
the Alhambra, confident that, ensconced in that 
formidable fortress, he could soon put an end to 
the rash commotion. To his surprise and dismay 
he found the battlements lined with hostile troops; 
Aben Comixa, the alcayde, had declared in favor 
of Boabdil, and elevated his standard on the tow- 
ers ; thus, cut of from his stronghold, the old 
monarch was fain to return to the Alixares. 

The conflict lasted throughout the night with 
carnage on both sides. In the morning Abul 
Cacim, driven out of the city, appeared before the 
old king with his broken squadrons, and told him 



CIVIL WAR IN THE CITY. 61 

there was no safety but in flight. " Allah Achbar, 
(God is great !) " exclaimed old Muley, " it is in 
vain to contend against what is written in the 
book of fate. It was predestined that my son 
should sit upon the throne — Allah forfend the 
rest of the prediction." So saying he made a 
hasty retreat, escorted by Abul Cacim Yanegas 
and his troops, who conducted him to the castle 
of Mondujar, in the Valley of Locrin. Here he 
was joined by many powerful cavaliers, relatives 
of Abul Cacim and partisans of Zoraya ; among 
whom were Cid Hiaya, Aben Jamy, and Reduan 
Yanegas, men who had alcaydes, vassals at their 
command, and possessed great influence in Al- 
meria and Baza. He was joined, also, by his 
brother Abdallah, commonly called El Zagal, or 
the Valiant ; who was popular in many parts of 
the kingdom. All these offered to aid him with 
their swords in suppressing the rebellion. 

Thus reinforced, Muley Abul Hassan deter- 
mined on a sudden blow for the recovery of his 
throne and the punishment of the rebels. He 
took his measures with that combination of dex- 
terity and daring which formed his character, and 
arrived one night under the walls of Granada, 
with five hundred chosen followers. Scaling the 
walls of the Alhambra, he threw himself with 
sanguinary fury into its silent courts. The sleej 
ing inmates were roused from their repose only to 
fall by the exterminating scimetar. The rage of 
Abul Hassan spared neither age, nor rank, nor sex ; 
the halls resounded with shrieks and yells, and 
the fountains ran red with blood. The alcayde. 



62 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Aben Comixa, retreated to a strong tower, with 
a few of the garrison and inhabitants. The furi- 
ous Abul Hassan did not lose time in pursuing 
him ; he was anxious to secure the city, and to 
wreak his vengeance on its rebellious inhabitants* 
Descending with his bloody band into the streets, 
he cut down the defenseless inhabitants, as, 
startled from their sleep, they rushed forth to 
learn the cause of the alarm. The city was soon 
completely roused ; the people flew to arms ; lights 
blazed in every street, revealing the scanty num- 
ber of this band, that had been dealing such fatal 
vengeance in the dark. Muley Abul Hassan 
had been mistaken in his conjectures ; the great 
mass of the people, incensed by his tyranny, were 
zealous in favor of his son. A violent, but tran- 
sient conflict took place in the streets and squares : 
many of the followers of Abul Hassan were 
slain : the rest driven out of the city ; and the 
old monarch, with the remnant of his band, re- 
treated to his loyal city of Malaga. 

Such was the commencement of those great 
internal feuds and divisions, which hastened the 
downfall of Granada. The Moors became separ- 
ated into two hostile factions, headed by the father 
and the son, the latter of whom was called 
by the Spaniards El Rey Chico, or the young 
king ; but though bloody encounters took place 
between them, they never failed to act with all 
their separate force against the Christians as a com- 
mon enemy, whenever an opportunity occurred. 




CHAPTER X. 



Royal Expedition against Loxa. 




ING FERDINAND held a council of 
war at Cordova, where it was de 
liberated what was to be done with Al- 
bania. Most of the council advised that it should 
be demolished, inasmuch as being in the centre 
of the Moorish kingdom, it would be at all times 
liable to attack, and could only be maintained by 
a powerful garrison and at a vast expense. Queen 
Isabella arrived at Cordova in the midst of these 
deliberations, and listened to them with surprise 
and impatience. " What ! " said she, " destroy 
the first fruits of our victories ? Abandon the 
first place we have wrested from the Moors ? 
Never let us suffer such an idea to occupy our 
minds. It would argue fear or feebleness, and 
give new courage to the enemy. You talk of 
the toil and expense of maintaining Alhama. 
Did we doubt, on undertaking this war, that it 
was to be one of infinite cost, labor, and blood- 
shed ? And shall we shrink from the cost, the 
moment a victory is obtained, and the question is 
merely to guard or abandon its glorious trophy ? 
Let us hear no more about the destruction of 
Alhama ; let us maintain its walls sacred, as a 



64 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

stronghold granted us by Heaven, in the centre 
of this hostile land ; and let our only considera- 
tion be how to extend our conquest, and capture 
the surrounding cities." 

The language of the queen infused a more 
lofty and chivalrous spirit into the royal council. 
Preparations were made to maintain Alhama at 
all risk and expense ; and King Ferdinand ap- 
pointed, as alcayde, Luis Fernandez Puerto Car- 
rero, Senior of the house of Palma, supported by 
Diego Lopez de Ayala, Pero Ruiz de Alarcon, 
and Alonzo Ortis, captains of four hundred lances, 
and a body of one thousand foot, supplied with 
provisions for three months. 

Ferdinand resolved also to lay siege to Loxa, 
or Loja, a city of great strength, at no great dis- 
tance from Alhama, and all-important to its pro- 
tection. It was, in fact, a military point, situated 
in a pass of the mountains, between the kingdoms 
of Granada and Castile, and commanded a main 
entrance to the vega. The Xenil flowed by its 
walls, and it had a strong castle or citadel, built 
on a rock. In preparing for the siege of this 
formidable place, Ferdinand called upon all the 
cities and towns of Andalusia and Estramadura, 
and the domains of the orders of Santiago, Cala- 
trava, and Alcantara, and of the priory of St. 
Juan and the kingdom of Toledo, and beyond to 
the cities of Salamanca, Toro, and Valladolid, to 
furnish, according to their repartimientos or allot- 
ments, a certain quantity of bread, wine, and cat- 
tle, to be delivered at the royal camp before Loxa, 
one half at the end of June, and one half in July. 









WARLIKE PREPARATIONS. 65 



These lands, also, together with Biscay and Gui- 
piscoa, were ordered to send reinforcements of 
horse and foot, each town furnishing its quota ; 
and great diligence was used in providing bom- 
bards, powder, and other warlike munitions. 

The Moors were no less active in their prepa- 
rations, and sent missives into Africa, entreating 
supplies, and calling upon the Barbary princes to 
aid them in this war of the faith. To intercept 
all succor, the Castilian sovereigns stationed an 
armada of ships and galleys in the Straits of 
Gibraltar, under the command of Martin Diaz 
de Mina and Carlos de Valera, with orders to 
scour the Barbary coast, and sweep every Moor- 
ish sail from the sea. 

While these preparations were making, Ferdi- 
nand made an incursion, at the head of his army, 
into the kingdom of Granada, and laid waste the 
vega, destroying its hamlets and villages, ravaging 
its fields of grain, and driving away the cattle. 

It was about the end of June that King Fer- 
dinand departed from Cordova, to sit down before 
the walls of Loxa. So confident was he of suc- 
cess, that he left a great part of the army at 
Ecija, and advanced with but five thousand cav- 
alry and eight thousand infantry. The marques 
of Cadiz, a warrior as wise as he was valiant, 
remonstrated against employing so small a force, 
and, indeed, was opposed to the measure alto- 
gether, as being undertaken precipitately, and 
without sufficient preparation. King Ferdinand, 
however, was influenced by the counsel of Don 
Diego de Merlo, and was eager to strike a bril- 



66 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

liant and decided blow. A vainglorious confi- 
dence prevailed, about this time, among the Span- 
ish cavaliers ; they overrated their own prowess, 
or rather they undervalued and despised their 
enemy. Many of them believed that the Moors 
would scarcely remain in their city when they 
saw the Christian troops advancing to assail it. 
The Spanish chivalry, therefore, marched gal- 
lantly and fearlessly, and almost carelessly, over 
the border, scantily supplied with the things need- 
ful for a besieging army, in the heart of an ene- 
my's country. In the same negligent and confi- 
dent spirit, they took up their station before 
Loxa. 

The country around was broken and hilly, so 
that it was extremely difficult to form a combined 
camp. The river Xenil, which runs by the town, 
was compressed between high banks, and so deep 
as to be fordable with extreme difficulty ; and the 
Moors had possession of the bridge. The king 
pitched his tents in a plantation of olives, on the 
banks of the river; the troops were distributed 
in different encampments on the heights, but 
separated from each other by deep rocky ravines, 
so as to be incapable of yielding each other 
prompt assistance. There was no room for the 
operation of the cavalry. The artillery, also, 
was so injudiciously placed as to be almost en- 
tirely useless. Alonzo of Aragon, duke of Villa- 
hermosa, and illegitimate brother of the king, was 
present at the siege, and disapproved of the whole 
arrangement. He was one of the most able gen- 
erals of his time, and especially renowned for his 






INSECURITY OF THE CAMP. 67 

skill in battering fortified places. He recom- 
mended that the whole disposition of the camp 
should be changed, and that several bridges 
should be thrown across the river. His advice 
was adopted, but slowly and negligently followed, 
so that it was rendered of no avail. Among 
other oversights in this hasty and negligent expe- 
dition, the army had no supply of baked bread ; 
and, in the hurry of encampment, there was no 
time to erect furnaces. Cakes were therefore 
hastily made, and baked on the coals, and for 
two days the troops were supplied in this irregu- 
lar way. 

King Ferdinand felt, too late, the insecurity 
of his position, and endeavored to provide a tem- 
porary remedy. There was a height near the 
city, called by the Moors Santo Albohacen, which 
was in front of the bridge. He ordered several 
of his most valiant cavaliers to take possession 
of this height, and to hold it as a check upon the 
enemy and a protection to the camp. The cava- 
liers chosen for this distinguished and perilous 
post were the Marques of C?*diz, the Marques of 
Villena, Don Roderigo Tellez Giron, master of 
Calatrava, his brother the Count of Urefia, and 
Don Alonzo de Aguilar. These valiant warriors 
and tried companions in arms led their troops with 
alacrity to the height, which soon glittered with 
the array of arms, and was graced by several of 
the most redoubtable pennons of warlike Spain. 

Loxa was commanded at this time by an old 
Moorish alcayde, whose daughter was the favorite 
wife of Boabdil. The name of this Moor was 



68 CONQu^ST OF GRANADA. 

Ibrahim Ali Atar, but he was generally known 
among the Spaniards as Alatar. He had grown 
gray in border warfare, was an implacable enemy 
of the Christians, and his name had long been 
the terror of the frontier. Lord of Zagra, and 
in the receipt of rich revenues, he expended them 
all in paying scouts and spies, and maintaining a 
small but chosen force with which to foray into 
the Christian territories ; and so straitened was 
he at times by these warlike expenses, that when 
his daughter married Boabdil, her bridal dress 
and jewels had to be borrowed. He was now in 
the ninetieth year of his age, yet indomitable in 
spirit, fiery in his passions, sinewy and powerful 
in frame, deeply versed in warlike stratagem, and 
accounted the best lance in all Mauritania. He 
had three thousand horsemen under his command, 
veteran troops, with whom he had often scoured 
the borders ; and he daily expected the old Moor- 
ish king w T ith reinforcements. 

Old Ali Atar had watched from his fortress 
every movement of the Christian army, and had 
exulted in all the errors of its commanders : when 
he beheld the flower of Spanish chivalry, glitter- 
ing about the height of Albohacen, his eye flashed 
with exultation. " By the aid of Allah," said he 
*' I will give those pranking cavaliers a rouse-" 

Ali Atar, privately and by night, sent forth a 
large body of his chosen troops, to lie in ambush 
near one of the skirts of Albohacen. On th6 
fourth day of the siege he sallied across the 
bridge, and made a feint attack upon the height, 
The cavaliers rushed impetuously forth to meet 






THE BLOODY FIGHT OF ALBOHACEN. 69 

him, leaving their encampment almost unpro- 
tected. Ali Atar wheeled and fled, and was hotly 
pursued. When the Christian cavaliers had been 
drawn a considerable distance from their encamp- 
ment, they heard a vast shout behind them, and, 
looking round, beheld their encampment assailed 
by the Moorish force which had been placed in 
ambush, and which had ascended a different side 
of the hill. The cavaliers desisted from the 
pursuit, and hastened to prevent the plunder of 
their tents. Ali Atar, in his turn, wheeled and 
pursued them ; and they were attacked in front 
and rear on the summit of the hill. The contest 
lasted for an hour ; the height of Albohacen was 
red with blood ; many brave cavaliers fell, expir- 
ing among heaps of the enemy. The fierce Ali 
fought with the fury of a demon, until the arrival 
of more Christian forces compelled him to retreat 
into the city. The severest loss to the Chris- 
tians, in this skirmish, was that of Roderigo Tel- 
lez Giron, grand master of Calatrava, whose 
burnished armor, emblazoned with the red cross 
of his order, made him a mark for the missiles 
of the enemy. As he was raising his arm to 
make a blow, an arrow pierced him, just beneath 
the shoulder, at the open part of the corselet. 
The lance and bridle fell from his hands, he fal- 
tered in his saddle, and would have fallen to the 
ground, but was caught by Pedro Gasca, a cava- 
lier of Avila, who conveyed him to his tent, 
where he died. The king and queen, and the 
A'hole kingdom, mourned his death, for he was in 
the freshness of his youth, being but twenty-four 



70 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

years of age, and had proved himself a gallant 
and high-minded cavalier. A melancholy group 
collected about his corse, on the bloody height of 
Albohacen ; the knights of Calatrava mourned 
him as a commander; the cavaliers who were 
encamped on the height lamented him as their 
companion in arms, in a service of peril ; while 
the Count de Urena grieved over him with the 
tender affection of a brother. 

King Ferdinand now perceived the wisdom of 
the opinion of the marques of Cadiz, and that 
his force was quite insufficient for the enterprise. 
To continue his camp in its present unfortunate 
position would cost him the lives of his bravest 
cavaliers, if not a total defeat, in case of rein- 
forcements to the enemy. He called a council 
of war, late in the evening of Saturday ; and it 
was determined to withdraw the army, early the 
next morning, to Rio Frio, a short distance from 
the city, and there wait for additional troops from 
Cordova. 

The next morning, early, the cavaliers on the 
height of Albohacen began to strike their tents. 
No sooner did Ali Atar behold this, than he sal- 
lied forth to attack them. Many of the Christian 
troops, who had not heard of the intention to 
change the camp, seeing the tents stuck and the 
Moors sallying forth, supposed that the enemy 
had been reinforced in the night, and that the 
army was on the point of retreating. Without 
stopping to ascertain the truth or to receive or- 
ders, they fled in dismay, spreading confusion 
through the camp ; nor did they halt until they 



WITHDRAWAL FROM LOXA. 71 

had reached the Rock of the Lovers, about seven 
leagues from Loxa. 1 

The king and his commanders saw the immi- 
nent peril of the moment, and made face to the 
Moors, each commander guarding his quarter and 
repelling all assaults, while the tents were struck 
and the artillery and ammunition conveyed away. 
The king, witii a handful of cavaliers, galloped 
to a rising ground, exposed to the fire of the 
enemy, calling upon the flying troops and endea- 
voring in vain to rally them. Setting upon the 
Moors, he and his cavaliers charged them so 
vigorously, that they put a squadron to flight, 
slaying many with their swords and lances, and 
driving others into the river, where they were 
drowned. The Moors, however, were soon rein- 
forced, and returned in great numbers. The king 
was in danger of being surrounded, and twice 
owed his safety to the valor of Don Juan de Bi- 
bera, Senior of Montemayor. 

The marques of Cadiz beheld, from a distance, 
the peril of his sovereign. Summoning about 
seventy horsemen to follow him, he galloped to 
the spot, threw himself between the king and the 
enemy, and, hurling his lance, transpierced one of 
the most daring of the Moors. For some time 
he remained with no other weapon than his 
sword ; his horse was wounded by an arrow, and 
many of his followers were slain ; but he suc- 
ceeded in beating off the Moors, and rescuing the 
king from imminent jeopardy, whom he then pre- 
vailed upon to retire to less dangerous ground. 
1 Pulgar, Cronica. 



72 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

The marques continued, throughout the day 
to expose himself to the repeated assaults of the 
enemy ; he was ever found in the place of the 
greatest danger, and through his bravery a great 
part of the army and camp was preserved from 
destruction. 1 

It was a perilous day for the commanders ; for 
in a retreat of the kind, it is the noblest cavaliers 
who most expose themselves to save their people. 
The duke of Medina Celi was struck to the 
ground, but rescued by his troops. The count de 
Tendilla, whose tents were nearest to the city, 
received several wounds, and various other cava- 
liers of the most distinguished note were exposed 
to fearful jeopardy. The whole day was passed 
in bloody skirmishings, in which the hidalgos and 
cavaliers of the royal household distinguished 
themselves by their bravery ; at length, the en- 
campments being all broken up, and most of the 
artillery and baggage removed, the bloody height 
of Albohacen was abandoned, and the neighbor- 
hood of Loxa evacuated. Several tents, a quan- 
tity of provisions, and a few pieces of artillery, 
were left upon the spot, from the want of horses 
and mules to carry them off. 

Ali Atar hung upon the rear of the retiring 
army, and harassed it until it reached Rio Frio. 
Ferdinand returned thence to Cordova, deeply 
mortified though greatly benefited by the severe 
lesson he had received, which served to render 
him more cautious in his campaigns and more dif- 
fident of fortune. He sent letters to ail parts, 
i Cura de los Palacios, c. 58. 



FERDINAND'S EXCUSE. 



73 



excusing bis retreat, imputing it to the small 
number of his forces, and the circumstance that 
many of them were quotas sent from various 
cities, and not in royal pay ; in the mean time, to 
console his troops for their disappointment, and to 
keep up their spirits, he led them upon another 
inroad to lay waste the vega of Granada. 




CHAPTER XL 

How Muley Abul Hassan made a Foray into the Lands of 
Medina Sidonia, and how he was received. 



a 



ULEY ABUL HASSAN had mus- 
tered an army, and marched to the re- 
lief of Loxa ; but arrived too late — the 
last squadron of Ferdinand had already passed 
over the border. " They have come and gone," 
said he, " like a summer cloud, and all their 
vaunting has been mere empty thunder." He 
turned to make another attempt upon Alhama, 
the garrison of which was in the utmost conster- 
nation at the retreat of Ferdinand, and would 
have deserted the place, had it not been for the 
courage and perseverance of the alcayde, Luis 
Fernandez Puerto Carrero. That brave and 
loyal commander cheered up the spirits of his 
men, and kept the old Moorish king at bay, until 
the approach of Ferdinand, on his second incur- 
sion into the vega, obliged him to make an unwil- 
ling retreat to Malaga. 

Muley Abul Hassan felt that it would be in 
vain, with his inferior force, to oppose the power- 
ful army of the Christian monarch ; but to remain 
idle and see his territories laid waste, would ruin 
him in the estimation of his people. ta If we can- 
not parry," said he, " we can strike ; if we can- 






FORAY OF MULEY ABUL HASSAN. 75 

not keep our own lands from being ravaged, we can 
ravage the lands of the enemy." He inquired 
and learned that most of the chivalry of Andalu- 
sia, in their eagerness for a foray, had marched 
off with the king, and left their own country al- 
most defenseless. The territories of the duke of 
Medina Sidonia were particularly unguarded : 
here were vast plains of pasturage, covered with 
flocks and herds — the very country for a hasty 
inroad. The old monarch had a bitter grudge 
against the duke for having foiled him at Al- 
hama. " I'll give this cavalier a lesson, " said 
he, exultingly, " that will cure him of his love of 
campaigning." So he prepared in all haste for a 
foray into the country about Medina Sidonia. 

Muley Abul Hassan sallied out of Malaga with 
fifteen hundred horse and six thousand foot, and 
took the way by the sea-coast, marching through 
Estiponia, and entering the Christian country be- 
tween Gibraltar and Castellar. Tiie only person 
that was likely to molest him on this route, was 
one Pedro de Vargas, a shrewd, hardy, and vigi- 
lant soldier, alcayde of Gibraltar, and who lay en- 
sconced in his old warrior rock as in a citadel. 
Muley Abul Hassan knew the watchful and dar- 
ing character of the man, but had ascertained 
that his garrison was too small to enable him to 
make a sally, or at least to insure him any suc- 
cess. Still he pursued his march with great si- 
lence and caution ; sent parties in advance, to ex- 
plore every pass where a foe might lie in ambush ; 
cast many an anxious eye towards the old rock of 
Gibraltar, as its cloud-capped summit was seen 



76 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

towering in the distance on his left, nor did he 
feel entirely at ease, until he had passed through 
the broken and mountainous country of Castel- 
lar, and descended into the plains. Here he en- 
camped on the banks of the Celemin, and sent 
four hundred corredors, or fleet horsemen, armed 
with lances, to station themselves near Algeziras, 
and keep a strict watch across the bay, upon the 
opposite fortress of Gibraltar. If the alcayde 
attempted to sally forth, they were to waylay and 
attack him, being almost four times his supposed 
force ; and were to send swift tidings to the camp. 
In the mean time, two hundred corredors were 
sent to scour that vast plain called the Campiiia 
de Tarifa, abounding with flocks and herds ; and 
two hundred more were to ravage the lands about 
Medina Sidonia. Muley Abul Hassan remained 
with the main body of the army, as a rallying 
point, on the banks of the Celemin. 

The foraging parties scoured the country to 
such effect, that they came driving vast flocks and 
herds before them, enough to supply the place of 
all that had been swept from the vega of Granada. 
The troops which had kept watch upon the rock 
of Gibraltar, returned with word that they had 
not seen a Christian helmet stirring. The old 
king congratulated himself upon the secrecy and 
promptness with which he had conducted his foray, 
and upon having baffled the vigilance of Pedro 
de Vargas. 

He had not been so secret, however, as he 
imagined ; the watchful alcayde of Gibraltar had 
received notice of his movements ; but his garrison 



VIGILANCE OF PEDRO BE VARGAS. 77 

was barely sufficient for the defense of his post. 
Luckily there arrived at this juncture a squadron 
of the armed galleys, under Carlos de Valera, 
recently stationed in the Straits. Pedro de 
Vargas prevailed upon him to take charge of 
Gibraltar during his temporary absence, and forth- 
with sallied out at midnight, at the head of seventy 
chosen horsemen. By his command alarm fires 
were lighted on the mountains, signals that the 
Moors were on the ravage, at sight of which the 
peasants were accustomed to drive their flocks 
and herds to places of refuge. He sent couriers 
also spurring in every direction, summoning all 
capable of bearing arms to meet him at Castellar. 
This was a town strongly posted on a steep height, 
by which the Moorish king would have to return. 
Muley Abul Hassan saw -by the fires blazing 
on the mountains, that the country was rising. 
He struck his tents, and pushed forward as rap- 
idly as possible for the border; but he was en- 
cumbered with booty, and with the vast cavalgada 
swept from the pastures of the Campina de Tarifa. 
His scouts brought him word that there were 
troops in the field, but he made light of the in- 
telligence, knowing that they could only be those 
of the alcayde of Gibraltar, and that he had not 
more than a hundred horsemen in his garrison. 
He threw in advance two hundred and fifty of 
his bravest troops, and with them the alcaydes of 
Marabella and Casares. Behind this vanguard 
followed a great cavalgada of cattle ; and in the 
rear marched the king, with the main force of his 
little army. 



78 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

It was near the middle of a sultry summer 
day, when they approached Castellar. De Vargas 
was on the watch, and beheld, by an immense 
cloud of dust, that they were descending one of 
the heights of that wild and broken country. 
The vanguard and rear- guard were above half 
a league asunder, with the cavalgada between 
them ; and a long and close forest hid them from 
each other. De Vargas saw that they could 
render but little assistance to each other in case 
of a sudden attack, and might be easily thrown 
into confusion. He chose fifty of his bravest 
horsemen, and, making a circuit, took his post 
secretly in a narrow glen opening into a defile 
between two rocky heights, through which the 
Moors had to pass. It was his intention to suffer 
the van-guard and the cavalgada to pass, and to 
fall upon the rear. 

While thus lying perdue, six Moorish scouts, 
well mounted and well armed, entered the glen, 
examining every place that might conceal an 
enemy. Some of the Christians advised that they 
should slay these six men, and retreat to Gibraltar. 
" No," said De Vargas, " I have come out for 
higher game than these ; and I hope, by the aid 
of God and Santiago, to do good work this day. 
I know these Moors well, and doubt not but that 
they may readily be thrown into confusion." 

By this time, the six horsemen approached so 
near that they were on the point of discovering 
the Christian ambush. De Vargas gave the 
word, and ten horsemen rushed upon them ; in an 
instant, four of the Moors rolled in the dust ; the 



THE MOORS ENTRAPPED BY AMBUSH. 79 

other two put spurs to their steeds, and fled to- 
wards their army, pursued by the ten Christians. 
About eighty of the Moorish vanguard came 
galloping to the relief of their companions ; the 
Christians turned, and fled towards their ambush. 
De Vargas kept his men concealed, until the 
fugitives and their pursuers came clattering pell- 
mell into the glen. At a signal trumpet his men 
sallied forth with great heat and in close array. 
The Moors almost rushed upon their weapons, 
before they perceived them ; forty of the infidels 
were overthrown, the rest turned their backs. 
" Forward ! " cried De Vargas ; " let us give the 
van-guard a brush, before it can be joined by the 
rear/' So saying, he pursued the flying Moors 
down hill, and came with such force and fury 
upon the advance guard as to overturn many of 
them at the first encounter. As he wheeled off 
with his men the Moors discharged their lances ; 
upon which he turneji^to the charge, and made 
great slaughter. The Moors fought valiantly for 
a short time, until the alcaydes of Marabella and 
Casares were slain, when they gave way and fled 
for the rear-guard. In their flight, they passed 
through the cavalgada of cattle, threw the whole 
in confusion, and raised such a cloud of dust that 
the Christians could no longer distinguish objects. 
Fearing that the king and the main body might 
be at hand, and finding that De Vargas was 
badly wounded, they contented themselves with 
despoiling the slain and taking about twenty-eight 
horses, and then retreated to Castellar. 

When the routed Moors came flying back upon 



80 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the rear-guard. Muley Abul Hassan feared that 
the people of Xeres were in arms. Several of 
his followers advised him to abandon the cav- 
algada, and retreat by another road. " No," said 
the old king, " he is no true soldier who gives up 
his booty without fighting." Putting spurs to 
his horse, he galloped forward through the centre 
of the cavalgada, driving the cattle to the right 
and left. When he reached the field of battle, 
he found it strewed with the bodies of upwards 
of one hundred Moors, among which were those of 
the two alcaydes. Enraged at the sight, he sum- 
moned all his cross-bowmen and cavalry, pushed 
on to the very gates of Castellar, and set fire to 
two houses close to the walls. Pedro de Vargas 
was too severely wounded to sally forth in person ; 
but he ordered out his troops, and there was brisk 
skirmishing under the walls, until the king drew 
off and returned to the scene of the recent en- 
counter. Here he had the bodies of the principal 
w r arriors laid across mules, to be interred honor- 
ably at Malaga; the rest of the slain were buried 
on the field of battle. Then, gathering together 
the scattered cavalgada, he paraded it slowly, in 
an immense line, past the walls of Castellar, by 
way of taunting his foe. 

With all his fierceness, old Muley Abul Hassan 
had a gleam of warlike courtesy, and admired the 
hardy and soldierlike character of Pedro de 
Vargas. He summoned two Christian captives, 
and demanded what were the revenues of the 
alcayde of Gibraltar. They told him that, among 
other things, he was entitled to one out of every 



MUTUAL COURTESIES. 81 

drove of cattle that passed his boundaries. " Allah 
forbid," cried the old monarch, u that so brave a 
cavalier should be defrauded of his dues." 

He immediately chose twelve of the finest 
cattle, from the twelve droves which formed the 
cavalgada. These he gave in charge to an al- 
faqui, to deliver to Pedro de Vargas. " Tell 
him," said he, " that I crave his pardon for not 
having sent these cattle sooner ; but I have this 
moment learnt the nature of his rights, and I 
hasten to satisfy them, with the punctuality due to 
so worthy a cavalier. Tell him, at the same 
time, that I had no idea the alcayde of Gibraltar 
was so active and vigilant in collecting his tolls." 

The brave alcayde relished the stern soldier- 
like pleasantry of the old Moorish monarch. 
He ordered a rich silken vest, and a scarlet 
mantle, to be giveu to the alfaqui, and dismissed 
him with great courtesy. " Tell his majesty," 
said he, " that I kiss his hands for the honor he 
has done me, and regret that my scanty force has 
not permitted me to give him a more signal re- 
ception, on his coming into these parts. Had 
three hundred horsemen, whom I have been prom- 
ised from Xeres, arrived in time, I might have 
served up an entertainment more befitting such a 
monarch. I trust, however, they will arrive in 
the course of the night, in which case his majesty 
may be sure of a royal regale in the dawning." 

Muley Abul Hassan shook his head, when he 
received the reply of De Vargas. " Allah pre- 
serve us," said he, Mrom any visitation of these 

hard riders of Xeres I a handful of troops, ac- 
6 



82 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

quainted with the wild passes of these mountains, 
may destroy an army encumbered as ours is with 
booty." 

It was some relief to the king, however, to learn 
that the hardy alcayde of Gibraltar was too se- 
verely wounded to take the field in person. He 
immediately beat a retreat, with all speed, before 
the close of the day, hurrying with such precipita- 
tion, that the cavalgada was frequently broken, 
and scattered among the rugged defiles of the 
mountains ; and above five thousand of the cattle 
turned back, and were regained by the Christians. 
Muley Abul Hassan returned triumphantly with 
the residue to Malaga, glorying in the spoils of 
the duke of Medina Sidonia. 

King Ferdinand was mortified at finding his 
incursion into the vega of Granada counterbal- 
anced by this inroad into his dominions, and saw 
that there were two sides to the game of war, as 
to all other games. The only one who reaped 
real glory, in this series of inroads and skirmish- 
ings, was Pedro de Vargas, the stout alcayde of 
Gibraltar. 1 

i Alonzo de Palencia lib. 28, c. 3, MS. 





CHAPTER XII. 



Foray of Spanish Cavaliers among the Mountains of Malaga. 




HE foray of old Muley Abul Hassan had 
touched the pride of the Andalusian 
chivalry, and they determined on retal- 
iation. For this purpose, a number of the most 
distinguished cavaliers assembled at Antiquera, 
in the month of March, 1483. The leaders of 
the enterprise were, the gallant marques of Cadiz ; 
Don Pedro Henriquez, adelanta'do of Andalusia; 
Don Juan de Silva, count of Cifuentes, and bearer 
of the royal standard, who commanded in Seville ; 
Don Alonzo de Cardenas, master of the religious 
and military order of Santiago ; and Don Alonzo 
de Aguilar. Several other cavaliers of note 
hastened to take part in the enterprise ; and in a 
little while, about twenty-seven hundred horse, 
and several companies of foot, were assembled 
within the old warlike city of Antiquera, compris- 
ing the very flower of Andalusian chivalry, 

A council of war was held by the chiefs, to de- 
termine in what quarter they should strike a blow. 
The rival Moorish kings were waging civil war 
with each other, in the vicinity of Granada : and 
the whole country lay open to inroads. Various 
plans were proposed by the different cavaliers. 



84 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 






The marques of Cadiz was desirous of scaling 
the walls of Zahara, and regaining possession of 
that important fortress. The master of Santiago, 
however, suggested a wider range and a still more 
important object. He had received information 
from his adalides, who were apostate Moors, that 
an incursion might be safely made into a moun- 
tainous region near Malaga, called the Axarquia. 
Here were valleys of pasture land, well stocked 
with flocks and herds ; and there were numerous 
villages and hamlets, which would be an easy prey. 
The city of Malaga was too weakly garrisoned, 
and had too few cavalry, to send forth any force 
in opposition ; nay, he added, they might even ex- 
tend their ravages to its very gates, and perad- 
venture carry that wealthy place by sudden as- 
sault. 

The adventurous spirits of the cavaliers were 
inflamed by this suggestion ; in their sanguine 
confidence, they already beheld Malaga in their 
power, and they were eager for the enterprise. 
The marques of Cadiz endeavored to interpose a 
little cool caution. He likewise had apostate ad- 
alides, the most intelligent and experienced on the 
borders ; among these, he placed especial reliance 
on one named Luis Amar, who knew all the 
mountains and valleys of the country. He had 
received from him a particular account of these 
mountains of the Axarquia. 1 Their savage and 

1 Pulgar, in his Chronicle, reverses the case, and makes the 
marques of Cadiz recommend the expedition to the Axar- 
quia; but Fray Antonio Agapida is supported in his state- 
ment by that most veracious and contemporary chronicler, 
Andres Bernaldes, curate of Los Palacios. 



FORAY OF SPANISH CAVALIERS. 85 

broken nature was a sufficient defense for the fierce 
people who inhabited them, who, manning their 
rocks, and their tremendous passes, which were 
often nothing more than the deep dry beds of tor- 
rents, might set whole armies at defiance. Even 
if vanquished, they afforded no spoil to the victor. 
Their houses were little better than bare walls, 
and they would drive off their scanty flocks and 
herds to the fastnesses of the mountains. 

The sober counsel of the marques, however, was 
overruled. The cavaliers, accustomed to mountain 
warfare, considered themselves and their horses 
equal to any wild and rugged expedition, and 
were flushed with the idea of terminating their 
foray by a brilliant assault upon Malaga. 

Leaving all heavy baggage at Antiquera, and 
all such as had horses too weak for this mountain 
scramble, they set forth, full of spirit and confi- 
dence. Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and the adelan- 
tado of Andalusia, led the squadron of advance. 
The count of Cifuentes followed, with certain of 
the chivalry of Seville. Then came the bat- 
talion of the most valiant Roderigo Ponce de 
Leon, marques of Cadiz ; he t was accompanied by 
several of his brothers and nephews, and many 
cavaliers, who sought distinction under his ban- 
ner ; and this family band attracted universal at- 
tention and applause, as they paraded in martial 
state through the streets of Antiquera. The rear- 
guard was led by Don Alonzo Cardenas, master 
of Santiago, and was composed of the knights of 
his order, and the cavaliers of Ecija, with certain 
men-at-arms of the Holy Brotherhood, whom the 



86 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

king had placed under his command. The army 
was attended by a great train of mules, laden 
with provisions for a few day's supply, until they 
should be able to forage among the Moorish vil- 
lages. Never did a more gallant and self-confi- 
dent little army tread the earth. It was composed 
of men full of health and vigor, to whom war was 
a pastime and delight. They had spared no ex- 
pense in their equipments, for never was the pomp 
of war carried to a higher pitch than among the 
proud chivalry of Spain. Cased in armor richly 
inlaid and embossed, with rich surcoats and wav- 
ing plumes, and superbly mounted on Andalusian 
steeds, they pranced out of Antiquera with ban- 
ners flying, and their various devices and armo- 
rial bearings ostentatiously displayed ; and in the 
confidence of their hopes, promised the inhabitants 
to enrich them with the spoils of Malaga. 

In the rear of this warlike pageant followed 
a peaceful band, intent on profiting by the antici- 
pated victories. They were not the customary 
wretches that hover about armies to plunder and 
strip the dead, but goodly and substantial traders 
from Seville, Cordova, and other cities of traffic. 
They rode sleek mules, and were clad in goodly 
raiment, with long leather purses at their girdles, 
well filled with pistoles and other golden coin. 
They had heard of the spoils wasted by the sol- 
diery at the capture of Alhama, and were pro- 
vided with moneys to buy up the jewels and pre- 
cious stones, the vessels of gold and silver, and the 
rich silks and cloths, that should form the plun- 
der of Malaga. The proud cavaliers eyed these 



EL ZAGAL. 87 

sons of traffic with great disdain, but permitted 
them to follow for the convenience of the troops, 
who might otherwise be overburdened with booty. 

It had been intended to conduct this expedition 
with great celerity and secrecy ; but the noise of 
their preparations had already reached the city 
of Malaga. The garrison, it is true, was weak ; 
but it possessed a commander who was himself a 
host. This was Muley Abdallah, commonly 
called El Zagal, or the Valiant. He was younger 
brother of Muley Abul Hassan, and general of 
the few forces which remained faithful to the old 
monarch. He possessed equal fierceness of spirit 
with his brother, and surpassed him in craft and 
vigilance. His very name was a war-cry among 
his soldiery, who had the most extravagant opin- 
ion of his prowess. 

El Zagal suspected that Malaga was the object 
of this noisy expedition. He consulted with old 
Bexir, a veteran Moor, who governed the city. 
" If this army of marauders should reach Mal- 
aga," said he, " we should hardly be able to keep 
them without its walls. I will throw myself, with 
a small force, into the mountains ; rouse the peas- 
antry, take possession of the passes, and endeavor 
to give these Spanish cavaliers sufficient enter- 
tainment upon the road." 

It was on a Wednesday, that the pranking 
army of high-mettled warriors issued forth from 
the ancient gates of Antiquera. They marched 
all day and night, making their way, secretly aa 
they supposed, through the passes of the moun- 
tains. As the tract of country they intended to 



88 CONQUEST OF GRANADA 

maraud was far in the Moorish territories, near 
the coast of the Mediterranean, they did not 
arrive there until late in the following day. In 
passing through these stern and lofty mountains, 
their path was often along the bottom of a bar- 
ranco, or deep rocky valley, with a scanty stream 
dashing along it, among the loose rocks and stones, 
which it had broken and rolled down, in the time 
of. its autumnal violence. Sometimes their road 
was a mere rambla, or dry bed of a torrent, cut 
deep into the mountains, and filled with their 
shattered fragments. These barrancos and ram- 
bias were overhung by immense cliffs and preci- 
pices ; forming the lurking-places of ambuscades, 
during the wars between the Moors and Span- 
iards, as in after times they have become the fa- 
vorite haunts of robbers to waylay the unfortu- 
nate traveller. 

As the sun went down, the cavaliers came to a 
lofty part of the mountains, commanding to the 
right a distant glimpse of a part of the fair vega 
of Malaga, with the blue Mediterranean beyond ; 
and they hailed it with exultation, as a glimpse 
of the promised land. As the night closed in, 
they reached the chain of little valleys and ham- 
lets, locked up among these rocky heights, and 
known among the Moors by the name of the 
Axarquia, Here their vaunting hopes were des- 
tined to meet with the first disappointment. The 
inhabitants had heard of their approach ; they 
had conveyed away their cattle and effects, and, 
with their wives and children, had taken refuge 
in the towers and fastnesses of the mountains. 






AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. 89 



Enraged at their disappointment, the troops set 
fire to the deserted houses, and pressed forward, 
hoping for better fortune as they advanced. Don 
Alonzo de Aguilar, and the other cavaliers in the 
van-guard, spread out their forces to lay waste the 
country ; capturing a few lingering herds of cattle, 
with the Moorish peasants who were driving 
them to some place of safety. 

While this marauding party carried fire and 
sword in the advance, and lit up the mountain 
cliffs with the flames of the hamlets, the master 
of Santiago, who brought up the rear-guard, main- 
tained strict order, keeping his knights together 
in martial array, ready for attack or defense, 
should an enemy appear. The men-at arms of 
the Holy Brotherhood attempted to roam in quest 
of booty ; but he called them back, and rebuked 
them severely. 

At length they came to a part of the mountain 
completely broken up by barrancos and ramblas, 
of vast depth, and shagged with rocks and preci- 
pices. It was impossible to maintain the order 
of march ; the horses had no room for action, and 
were scarcely manageable, having to scramble 
from rock to rock, and up and down frightful de- 
clivities, where there there was scarce footing for 
a mountain goat. Passing by a burning village, 
the light of the flames revealed their perplexed 
situation. The Moors, who had taken refuge in 
a watch-tower on an impending height, shouted 
with exultation, when they looked down upon 
these glistening cavaliers struggling and stum- 
bling among the rocks. Sallying forth from their 



90 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

tower, they took possession of the cliffs which 
overhung the ravine, and hurled darts and stones 
upon the enemy. It was with the utmost grief 
of heart that the # good master of Santiago beheld 
his brave men falling like helpless victims around 
him, without the means of resistance or revenge. 
The confusion of his followers was increased by 
the shouts of the Moors, multiplied by the echoes 
of every crag and cliff, as if they were surrounded 
by innumerable foes. Being entirely ignorant of 
the country, in their struggles to extricate them- 
selves they plunged into other glens and defiles, 
where they were still more exposed to danger. 
In this extremity, the master of Santiago dis- 
patched messengers in search of succor. The 
marques of Cadiz, like a loyal companion in arms, 
hastened to his aid with his cavalry ; his approach 
checked the assaults of the enemy, and the mas- 
ter was at length enabled to extricate his troops 
from the defile. 

In the mean- time, Don Alonzo de Aguilar and 
his companions, in their eager advance, had like- 
wise got entangled in deep glens and the dry 
beds of torrents, where they had been severely 
galled by the insulting attacks of a handful of 
Moorish peasants posted on the impending preci- 
pices. The proud spirit of De Aguilar was in- 
censed at having the game of war thus turned 
upon him, and his gallant forces domineered over 
by mountain boors, whom he had thought to 
drive, like their own cattle, to Antiquera. Hear- 
ing, however, that his friend the marques of 
Cadiz, and the master of Santiago, were engaged 



REPULSE OF THE CAVALIERS. 91 

with the enemy, he disregarded his own danger, 
and, calling together ic> troops, returned to assist 
them, or rather to partake their perils. Being 
once more together, the cavaliers held a hasty 
council, amidst the hurling of stones and the 
whistling of arrows ; and their resolves were 
quickened by the sight, from time to time, of 
some gallant companion in arms laid low. They 
determined that there was no spoil in this part 
of the country, to repay for the extraordinary 
peril ; and that it was better to abandon the herds 
they had already taken, which only embarrassed 
their march, and to retreat with all speed to less 
dangerous ground. 

The adalides, or guides, were ordered to lead 
the way out of this place of carnage. These, 
thinking to conduct them by the most secure 
route, led them by a steep and rocky pass, diffi- 
cult for the foot-soldiers, but almost impracticable 
to the cavalry. It was overhung with precipices, 
from whence showers of stones and arrows were 
poured upon them, accompanied by savage yells, 
which appalled the stoutest heart. In some 
places, they could pass but one at a time, and 
were often transpierced, horse and rider, by the 
Moorish darts, impeding the progress of their 
comrades by their dying struggles. The sur- 
rounding precipices were lit up by a thousand 
alarm-fires ; every crag and cliff had its flame, 
by the light of which they beheld their foes, 
bounding from rock to rock, and looking more 
ike fiends than mortal men. 
Either through terror aud confusion, or through 



92 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

real ignorance of the country, their guides, in 
stead of conducting therrtmt of the mountains, 
led them deeper into their fatal recesses. The 
morning dawned upon them in a narrow rambla, 
its bottom formed of broken rocks, where once 
had raved along the mountain torrent ; while 
above, there beetled great arid cliffs, over the 
brows of which they beheld the turbaned heads 
of their fierce and exulting foes. What a differ- 
ent appearance did the unfortunate cavaliers pre- 
sent, from that of the gallant band that marched 
so vauntingly out of Antiquera ! Covered with 
dust, and blood, and wounds, and haggard with 
fatigue and horror, they looked like victims rather 
than like warriors. Many of their banners were 
lost, and not a trumpet was heard to rally up 
their sinking spirits. The men turned with im- 
ploring eyes to their commanders ; while the 
hearts of the cavaliers were ready to burst with 
rage and grief at the merciless havoc made among 
their faithful followers. 

All day they made ineffectual attempts to ex 
tricate themselves from the mountains. Columns 
of smoke rose from the heights, where, in the 
preceding night, had blazed the alarm-fire. The 
mountaineers assembled from every direction ; 
they swarmed at every pass, getting in the ad- 
vance of the Christians, and garrisoning the cliffs 
like so many towers and battlements. 

Night closed again upon the Christians, when 
they were shut i*p in a narrow valley traversed 
by a deep stream, and surrounded by precipices 
which seemed to reach the skies, and on which 






SCALING THE MOUNTAIN. 93 



blazed and flared the alarm-fires. Suddenly a 
new cry was heard resounding along the valley : 
"El Zagal! El Zagal!" echoed from cliff to 
cliff. " What cry is that ? " said the master of 
Santiago. " It is the war-cry of El Zagal, the 
Moorish general," said an old Castilian soldier : 
" he must be coming in person, with the troops 
of Malaga." 

The worthy master turned to his knights : 
" Let us die," said he, " making a road with our 
hearts, since we cannot with our swords. Let us 
scale the mountain, and sell our lives dearly, in- 
stead of staying here to be tamely butchered." 

So saying, he turned his steed against the 
mountain, and spurred him up its flinty side. 
Horse and foot followed his example, eager, if 
they could not escape, to haVe at least a dying 
blow at the enemy. As they struggled up the 
height, a tremendous storm of darts and stones 
was showered upon them by the Moors. Some- 
times a fragment of rock came bounding and 
thundering down, ploughing its way through the 
centre of their host. The foot-soldiers, faint with 
weariness and hunger, or crippled by wounds, 
held by the tails and manes of the horses to aid 
them hi their ascent ; while the horses, losing 
their foothold among the loose stones, or receiving 
some sudden wound, tumbled down the steep de- 
clivity, steed, rider, and soldier, rolling from crag 
to crag until they were dashed to pieces in the 
valley. In this desperate struggle, the alferez or 
standard-bearer of the master, with his standard, 
was lost ; as were many of his relations and his 



94 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

dearest friends. At length he succeeded in at- 
taining the crest of the mountain ; but it was 
only to be plunged in new difficulties. A wilder- 
ness of rocks and rugged dells lay before him, 
beset by cruel foes. Having neither banner nor 
trumpet by which to rally his troops, they wan- 
dered apart, each intent upon saving himself 
from the precipices of the mountains, and the 
darts of the enemy. When the pious master of 
Santiago beheld the scattered fragments of his 
late gallant force, he could not restrain his grief. 
" O God ! " exclaimed he, " great is thine anger 
this day against thy servants. Thou hast con- 
verted the cowardice of these infidels into des- 
perate valor, and hast made peasants and boors 
victorious over armed men of battle." 

He would fain have kept with his foot-soldiers, 
and, gathering them together, have made head 
against the enemy ; but those around him en- 
treated him to think only of his personal safety. 
To remain was to perish, without striking a blow ; 
to escape was to preserve a life that might be de- 
voted to vengeance on the Moors. The master 
reluctantly yielded to the advice. " Lord of 
hosts ! " exclaimed he again, " from thy wrath do 
I fly ; not from these infidels : they are but in- 
struments in thy hands, to chastise us for our 
sins." So saying, he sent the guides in the ad- 
vance, and putting spurs to his horse, dashed 
through a defile of the mountains before the 
Moors could intercept him. The moment the 
master put his horse to speed, his troops scattered 
in all directions. Some endeavored to follow his 






DISPERSION OF THE CAVALIERS. 95 

traces, but were confounded among the intricacies 
of the mountain. They fled hither and thither, 
many perishing among the precipices, others being 
slain by the Moors, and others taken prisoners. 

The gallant marques of Cadiz, guided by his 
trusty adalid, Luis Amar, had ascended a differ- 
ent part of the mountain. He was followed by 
his friend, Don Alonzo de Aguilar, the adelan- 
tado, and the count of Cifuentes; but, in the 
darkness and confusion, the bands of these com- 
manders became separated from each other. 
When the marques attained the summit, he 
looked around for his companions in arms ; but 
they were no longer following him, and there 
was no trumpet to summon them. It was a 
consolation to the marques, however, that his 
brothers and several of his relations, with a num- 
ber of his retainers, were still with him ; he called 
his brothers by name, and their replies gave com- 
fort to his heart. 

His guide now led the way into another val- 
ley, where he would be less exposed to danger ; 
when he had reached the bottom of it, the mar- 
ques paused to collect his scattered followers, and 
to give time for his fellow-commanders to rejoin 
him. Here he was suddenly assailed by the 
troops of El Zagal, aided by the mountaineers 
from the cliffs. The Christians, exhausted and 
terrified, lost all presence of mind : most of them 
fled, and were either slain or taken captive. The 
marques and his valiant brothers, with a few 
tried friends, made a stout resistance. His horse 
was killed under him ; his brothers, Don Diego 



96 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and Don Lope, with his two nephews, Don Lo- 
renzo and Don Manuel, were one by one swept 
from his side, either transfixed w T ith darts and 
lances by the soldiers of El Zagal, or crushed by 
stones from the heights. The marques was a vet- 
eran warrior, and had been in many a bloody 
battle ; but never before had death fallen so thick 
and close around him. When he saw his remain- 
ing brother, Don Beltram, struck out of his saddle 
by a fragment of a rock, and his horse running 
wildly about without his rider, he gave a cry of 
anguish, and stood bewildered and aghast. A 
few faithful followers surrounded him, and en- 
treated him to fly for his life. He would still 
have remained, to have shared the fortunes of 
his friend, Don Alouzo de Aguilar, and his other 
companions in arms ; but the forces of El Zagal 
were between him and them, and death was 
whistling by on every wind. Reluctantly, there- 
fore, he consented to fly. Another horse was 
brought him : his faithful adalid guided him by 
one of the steepest paths, which lasted for four 
leagues ; the enemy still hanging on his traces, 
and thinning the scanty ranks of his followers. 
At length the marques reached the extremity of 
the mountain defiles, and, with a haggard rem- 
nant of his men, escaped by dint of hoof to An- 
tiquera. 

The count of Cifuentes, with a few of his re- 
tainers, in attempting to follow the marques of 
Cadiz, wandered into a narrow pass, where they 
were completely surrounded by the band of El 
Zagal. The count himself was assailed by six 



DISASTROUS END OF TEE FORAY. 97 



of ;he enemy, against whom he was defending 
himself with desperation, when their leader, 
struck with the inequality of the fight, ordered 
the others to desist, and continued the combat 
alone. The count, already exhausted, was soon 
compelled to surrender ; his brother, Don Pedro 
de Siiva, and the few of his retainers who sur- 
vived, were likewise taken prisoners. The Moor- 
ish cavalier who had manifested such a chivalric 
spirit in encountering the count singly, was Rad- 
uan Vanegas, brother of the former vizier of 
Muley Abul Hassan, and one of the leaders of 
the faction of the sultana Zoraya. 

The dawn of day found Don Alonzo de Agui- 
lar, with a handful of his followers, still among 
the mountains. They had attempted to follow 
the marques of Cadiz, but had been obliged to 
pause and defend themselves against the thicken- 
ing forces of the enemy. They at length trav- 
ersed the mountain, and reached the same valley 
where the marques had made his last disastrous 
stand. Wearied and perplexed, they sheltered 
themselves in a natural grotto, under an over- 
hanging rock, which kept off the darts of the 
enemy ; while a bubbling fountain gave them the 
means of slaking their raging thirst, and refresh- 
ing their exhausted steeds. As day broke, the 
scene of slaughter unfolded its horrors. There 
lay the noble brothers and nephews of the gal- 
lant marques, transfixed with darts, or gashed and 
bruised with unseemly wounds ; while many other 
gallant cavaliers lay stretched out dead and dying 
around, some of them partly stripped and plun- 



98 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

dered by the Moors. De Aguilar was a pious 
knight, but his piety. was not humble and resigned, 
like that of the worthy master of Santiago. He 
imprecated holy curses upon the infidels for hav- 
ing thus laid low the flower of Christian chiv- 
alry ; and he vowed in his heart bitter vengeance 
upon the surrounding country. 

By degrees, the little force of De Aguilar was 
augmented by numbers of fugitives, who issued 
from caves and chasms, where they had taken 
refuge in the night. A little band of mounted 
knights was gradually formed ; and the Moors 
having abandoned the heights to collect the spoils 
of the slain, this gallant but forlorn squadron 
was enabled to retreat to Antiquera. 

This disastrous affair lasted from Thursday 
evening, throughout Friday, the twenty-first of 
March, the festival of St. Benedict. It is still 
recorded in Spanish calendars as the defeat of 
the mountains of Malaga ; and the spot where 
the greatest slaughter took place is called la 
Guesta de la Matanza, or The Hill of the Mas- 
sacre. The principal leaders who survived re- 
turned to Antiquera. Many of the knights took 
refuge in Alhama and other towns; many wan- 
dered about the mountains for eight days, living 
on roots and herbs, hiding themselves during the 
day, and sallying forth at night. So enfeebled 
and disheartened were they, that they offered no 
resistance if attacked. Three or four soldiers 
would surrender to a Moorish peasant ; and even 
the women of Malaga sallied forth and made 
prisoners. Some were thrown into the dungeons 



TRIUMPH OF THE MOORS. 99 

of frontier towns, others led captive to Granada ; 
but by far the greater number were conducted to 
Malaga, the city they had threatened to attack. 
Two hundred and fifty principal cavaliers, al- 
caydes, commanders, and hidalgos, of generous 
blood, were confined in the Alcazaba, or citadel 
of Malaga, to await their ransom ; and five hun- 
dred and seventy of the common soldiery were 
crowded in an inclosure or court-yard of the Al- 
cazaba, to be sold as slaves. 1 

Great spoils were collected of splendid armor 
and weapons taken from the slain, or thrown 
away by the cavaliers in their flight ; and many 
horses, magnificently caparisoned, together with 
numerous standards — all which were paraded in 
triumph in the Moorish towns. 

The merchants, also, who had come with^lbe 
army, intending to traffic in the spoils of the 
Moors, were themselves made objects of traffic. 
Several of them were driven like cattle before 
the Moorish viragos, to the market of Malaga ; 
and in spite of all their adroitness in trade, and 
their attempts to buy themselves off at a cheap 
ransom, they were unable to purchase their free- 
dom without such draughts upon their money- 
bags at home as drained them to the very bottom, 

1 Cura de los Palacios. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Effects of the Disasters among the Mountains of Malaga 




HE people of Antiquera had scarcely re 
covered from the tumult of excitemen 
and admiration, caused by the departure 
of the gallant band of cavaliers upon their foray, 
when they beheld the scattered wrecks flying for 
refuge to their walls. Day after day, and hour 
after hour, brought some wretched fugitive, in 
whose battered plight, and haggard, woebegone 
demeanor, it was almost impossible to recognize 
the warrior who had lately issued so gayly and 
gloriously from their gates. 

The arrival of the marques of Cadiz, almost 
alone, covered with dust and blood, his armor 
shattered and defaced, his countenance the picture 
of despair, filled every heart with sorrow, for he 
was greatly beloved by the people. The multi- 
tude asked of his companions, where was the band 
of brothers which had rallied round him as he 
went forth to the field ; and when told that one 
by one they had been slaughtered at his side, 
they hushed their voices, or spake to each other 
only in whispers as he passed, gazing at him in 
silent sympathy. No one attempted to console 
him in so great an affliction, nor did the good 



t 



EFFECTS OF THE DISASTERS. ]01 

marques speak ever a word, but, shutting himself 
up, brooded in lonely anguish over his misfortune, 
It was only the arrival of Don Alonzo de Aguilaf 
that gave him a gleam of consolation, rejoicing to 
find that amidst the shafts of death which had 
fallen so thickly among his family his chosen 
friend and brother in arms had escaped unin- 
jured. 

For several days every eye was turned, in 
fearful suspense, toward the Moorish border, 
anxiously looking, in every fugitive from the 
mountains, for the lineaments of some friend or 
relative, whose fate was yet a mystery. At 
length every hope and doubt subsided into 
certainty ; the whole extent of this great calamity 
was known, spreading grief and consternation 
throughout the land, and laying desolate the pride 
and hopes of palaces. It was a sorrow that 
visited the marble hall and silken pillow. Stately 
dames mourned over the loss of their sons, the 
joy and glory of their age ; and many a fair cheek 
was blanched with woe, which had lately mantled 
with secret admiration. " All Andalusia," says a 
historian of the time, " was overwhelmed by a 
great affliction ; there was no dryiug of the eyes 
which wept in her." - 1 

Eear and trembling reigned, for a time, along 
the frontier. Their spear seemed broken, their 
buckler cleft in twain : every border town dreaded 
an attack, and the mother caught her infant to 
her bosom when the watch-dog howled in the 
1 Cur a de los Palacios. 



102 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

night, fancying it the war-cry of the Moor. All, 
for a time, seemed lost ; and despondency even 
found its way to the royal breasts of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, amidst the splendors of their court. 

Great, on the other hand, was the joy of the 
Moors, when they saw whole legions of Christian 
warriors brought captive into their towns, by rude 
mountain peasantry. They thought it the work of 
Allah in favor of the faithful. But when they 
recognized, among the captives thus dejected and 
broken down, some of the proudest of Christian 
chivalry ; when they saw several of the banners 
and devices of the noblest houses of Spain, which 
they had been accustomed to behold in the fore- 
most of the battle, now trailed ignominiously 
through their streets ; when, in short, they wit- 
nessed the arrival of the count of Cifuentes, the 
royal standard-bearer of Spain, with his gallant 
brother Don Pedro de Silva, brought prisoners 
into the gates of Granada, there were no bounds 
to their exultation. They thought that the days 
of their ancient glory were about to return, and 
that they were to renew their career of triumph 
over the unbelievers. 

The Christian historians of the time are sorely 
perplexed to account for this misfortune ; and why 
so many Christian knights, fighting in the cause 
of the holy faith, should thus miraculously, as it 
were, be given captive to a handful of infidel 
boors ; for we are assured, that all this rout and 
destruction was effected by five hundred foot and 
fifty horse, and those mere mountaineers, without 



CAUSES OF THE DEFEAT. 103 

9cience or discipline. 1 " It was intended," 
observes one historiographer, " as a lesson to their 
confidence and vainglory ; overrating their own 
prowess and thinking that so chosen a band of 
chivalry had but to appear in the land of the 
enemy, and conquer. It was to teach them that 
the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the 
strong, but that God alone giveth the victory." 

The worthy father Fray Antonio Agapida, 
however, asserts it to be a punishment for the 
avarice of the Spanish warriors. They did not 
enter the kingdom of the infidels with the pure 
spirit of Christian knights, zealous only for the 
glory of the faith, but rather as greedy men of 
traffic, to enrich themselves by vending the spoils 
of the infidels. Instead of preparing themselves 
by confession and communion, and executing their 
testaments, and making donations and bequests to 
churches and convents, they thought only of 
arranging bargains and sales of their anticipated 
booty. Instead of taking with them holy monks 
to aid them with their prayers, they were followed 
by a train of trading men, to keep alive their 
worldly and sordid ideas, and to turn what ought 
to be holy triumphs into scenes of brawling traffic. 
Such is the opinion of the excellent Agapida, in 
which he is joined by that most worthy and up- 
right of chroniclers, the curate of Los Palacios. 
Agapida comforts himself, however, with the re- 
flection, that this visitation was meant in mercy, to 
try the Castilian heart, and to extract, from its 
present humiliation, the elements of future suc- 
1 Cur a de los Palacios. 



104 



CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



cess, as gold is extracted from amidst the impuri- 
ties of earth ; and in this reflection he is supported 
by the venerable historian Pedro Abarca, of the 
society of Jesuits. 1 

* Abarca. Anaks de Aragon, Rey 30, cap. 2, § 3. 








CHAPTER XIV. 



How King Boabdil el Chico marched over the Border. 




HE defeat of the Christian cavaliers 
among the mountains of Malaga, and 
I the successful inroad of Muley Abul 
Hassan into the lands of Medina Sidonia, had 
produced a favorable effect on the fortunes of the 
old monarch. The inconstant populace began to 
shout forth his name in the streets, and to sneer 
at the inactivity of his son Boabdil el Chico. 
The latter, though in the flower of his age, and 
distinguished for vigor and dexterity in jousts 
and tournaments, had never yet fleshed his wea- 
pon in the field of battle ; and it was murmured 
that he preferred the silken repose of the cool 
halls of the Alhambra to the fatigue and danger 
of the foray, and the hard encampments of the 
mountains. 

The popularity of these rival kings depended 
upon their success against the Christians, and 
Boabdil el Chico found it necessary to strike 
some signal blow to counterbalance the late tri- 
umph of his father. He was further incited by 
his father-in-law, Ali Atar, aleayde of Loxa, with 
whom the coals of wrath against the Christians 
still burned among the ashes of age, and had 



106 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

lately been blown into a flame by the attack made 
by Ferdinand on the city under his command. 

Ali Atar informed Boabdil that the late dis- 
comfiture of the Christian knights had stripped 
Andalusia of the prime of her chivalry, and bro- 
ken the spirit of the country. All the frontier 
of Cordova and Ecija now lay open to inroad ; 
but he especially pointed out the city of Lucona 
as an object of attack, being feebly garrisoned, 
and lying in a country rich in pasturage, abound- 
ing in cattle and grain, in oil and wine. The 
fiery old Moor spoke from thorough information ; 
for he had made many an incursion into these 
parts, and his very name was a terror throughout 
the country. It had become a by-word in the 
garrison of Loxa to call Lucena the gardeu of 
Ali Atar, for he was accustomed to forage its fer- 
tile territories for all his supplies. 

Boabdil el Chico listened to the persuasions of 
this veteran of the borders. He assembled a 
force of nine thousand foot and seven hundred 
horse, most of them his own adherents, but many 
the partisans of his father ; for both factions, 
however they might fight among themselves, were 
ready to unite in any expedition against the 
Christians. Many of the most illustrious and 
valiant of the Moorish nobility assembled round 
his standard, magnificently arrayed in sumptuous 
armor and rich embroidery, as though for a fes- 
tival or a tilt of canes, rather than an enterprise 
of iron war. Boabdil's mother, the sultana Ayxa 
la Horra, armed him for the field, and gave him 
her benediction as she girded his scimetar to his 



MARCH OF BOABDIL. 107 

side. His favorite wife Morayma wept, as she 
thought of the evils that might befall him. 
"Why dost thou weep, daughter of AH Atar?" 
said the high-minded Ayxa : " these tears become 
not the daughter of a warrior, nor the wife of a 
king. Believe me, there lurks more danger for 
a monarch within the strong walls of a palace 
than within the frail curtains of a tent. It is by 
perils in the field that thy husband must purchase 
security on his throne." 

But Morayma still hung upon his neck, with 
tears and sad forebodings; and when he departed 
from the Alhambra, she betook herself to her 
mirador, overlooking the vega, whence she watched 
the army, as it went, in shining order, along the 
road leading to Loxa ; and every burst of war- 
like melody that came swelling on the breeze was 
answered by a gush of sorrow. 

As the royal cavalcade issued from the palace 
and descended through the streets of Granada, 
the populace greeted their youthful sovereign with 
shouts, anticipating deeds of prowess that would 
wither the laurels of his father. The appearance 
of Boabdil was well calculated to captivate the 
public eye, if we may judge from the description 
given by the abbot of Rute, in his manuscript 
history of the House of Cordova. He was 
mounted on a superb white charger, magnifi- 
cently caparisoned. His corselets were of pol- 
ished steel, richly ornamented ; studded with 
gold nails, and lined with crimson velvet. He 
wore a steel casque, exquisitely chiseled and em- 
bossed ; his scimetar and dagger of Damascus 



108 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

were of highest temper ; he had a round buckler 
at his shoulder, and bore a ponderous lance. In 
passing through the gate of Elvira, however, he 
accidentally broke his lance against the arch. 
At this, certain of his nobles turned pale, and 
entreated him to turn back, for they regarded it 
as an evil omen. Boabdil scoffed at their fears 
as idle fancies. He refused to take another 
spear, but drew forth his scimetar, and led the 
way (adds Agapida) in an arrogant and haughty 
style, as though he would set both heaven and 
earth at defiance. Another evil omen was sent 
to deter him from his enterprise : arriving at the - 
rambla, or dry ravine of Beyro, which is scarcely 
a bow-shot from the city, a fox ran through the 
whole army, and close by the person of the king ; 
and, though a thousand bolts were discharged at 
it, escaped uninjured to the mountains. The 
principal courtiers now reiterated their remon- 
strances against proceeding ; the king, however, 
was not to be dismayed by these portents, but 
continued to march forward. 1 

At Loxa the army was reinforced by old Ali 
Atar, with the chosen horsemen of his garrison, 
and many of the bravest warriors of the border 
towns. The people of Loxa shouted with exul- 
tation when they beheld Ali Atar, armed at all 
points, and mounted on his Barbary steed, which 
had often borne him over the borders. The vet- 
eran warrior, with nearly a century of years 
upon his head, had all the fire and animation of 
youth at the prospect of a foray, and careered 
3 Marmol. Rebel, de los Moros, lib. 1, c. 12, fol. 14. 



THE MARCH TO LUCENA. 109 

from rank to rank with the velocity of an Arab 
of the desert. The populace watched the army, 
as it paraded over the bridge, and wound into the 
passes of the mountains ; and still their eyes 
were fixed upon the pennon of Ali Atar, as if it 
bore with it an assurance of victory. 

The Moorish army entered the Christian fron- 
tier by forced marches, hastily ravaging the coun- 
try, driving off the flocks and herds, and making 
captives of the inhabitants. They pressed on 
furiously, and made the latter part of their march 
in the night, to elude observation, and come upon 
Lucena by surprise. Boabdil was inexperienced 
in warfare, but had a veteran counselor in his 
old father-in-law; for Ali Atar knew every secret 
of the country, and, as he prowled through it, his 
eye ranged over the land, uniting in its glare the 
craft of the fox with the sanguinary ferocity of 
the wolf. He had flattered himself that their 
march had been so rapid as to outstrip intelli- 
gence, and that Lucena would be an easy cap- 
ture : when suddenly he beheld alarm-fires blaz- 
ing upon the mountains. " We are discovered," 
said he to Boabdil ; " the country will be up in 
arms; we have nothing left but to strike boldly 
for Lucena ; it is but slightly garrisoned, and we 
may carry it by assault before we can receive 
assistance." The king approved of his counsel, 
and they marched rapidly for the gate of Lucena. 



CHAPTER XV. 

How the Count de Cabra sallied forth from his Castle in quest 
of King Boabdil. 




ON DIEGO DE CORDOVA, count of 
Cabra, was in the castle of Vaena, which, 
jjg£|I| with the town of the same name, is situ- 
ated on a lofty, sun-burnt hill, on the frontier of 
the kingdom of Cordova, and but a few leagues 
from Lucena. The range of mountains of Hor- 
quera lie between them. The castle of Vaena 
was strong, and well furnished with arms, and 
the count had a numerous band of vassals and 
retainers ; for it behooved the noblemen of the 
frontiers, in those times, to be well prepared with 
man and horse, with lance and buckler, to resist 
the sudden incursions of the Moors. The count 
of Cabra was a hardy and experienced warrior, 
shrewd in council, prompt in action, rapid and 
fearless in the field. He was one of the bravest 
of cavaliers for an inroad, and had been quick- 
ened and sharpened, in thought and action, by 
living on the borders. 

On the night of the 20th of April, 1483, the 
count was about to retire to rest, when the watch- 
man from the turret brought him word that there 
were alarm-fires on the mountains of Horquera, 



BE CABRA PURSUES B0ABD1L. Ill 

and that they were made on the signal-tower 
overhanging the defile through which the road 
passes to Cabra and Lucena. 

The count ascended the battlement, and beheld 
five lights blazing on the tower — a sign that 
there was a Moorish army attacking some place 
on the frontier. The count instantly ordered the 
alarm-bells to be sounded, and dispatched couriers 
to rouse the commanders of the neighboring 
towns. He called upon his retainers to prepare 
for action, and sent a trumpet through the town, 
summoning the men to assemble at the castle-gate 
at daybreak, armed and equipped for the field. 

Throughout the remainder of the night, the cas- 
tle resounded with the din of preparation. Every 
house in the town was in equal bustle ; for in 
these frontier towns every house had its warrior, 
and the lance and buckler were ever hanging 
against the wall, ready to be snatched down for 
instant service. Nothing was heard but the din 
of armorers, the shoeing of studs, and furbishing 
up of weapons, and, all night long, the alarm- fires 
kept blazing on the mountains. 

When the morning dawned the count of Cabra 
sallied forth, at the head of two hundred and fifty 
cavaliers, of the best families of Yaena, all well 
appointed, exercised in arms, and experienced in 
the warfare of the borders. There were, besides, 
twelve hundred foot soldiers, brave and well-sea- 
soned men of the same town. The count ordered 
them to hasten forward, whoever could make most 
speed, taking the road to Cabra, which was three 
leagues distant. That they might not loiter on 



112 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the road, he allowed none of them to break their 
fast until they arrived at that place. The provi- 
dent count dispatched couriers in advance, and 
the little army, on reaching Cabra, found tables 
spread with food and refreshments, at the gates 
of the town. Here they were joined by Don 
Alonza de Cordova, senior of Zuheros. 

Having made a hearty repast, they were on 
the point of resuming their march, when the 
count discovered that, in the hurry of his depar- 
ture from home, he had forgotten to bring the 
standard of Vaena, which for upwards of eighty 
years had always been borne to battle by his fam- 
ily. It was noon, and there was not time to re- 
turn : he took, therefore, the standard of Cabra, 
the device of which is a goat, and which had not 
been seen in the wars for the last half century. 
When about to depart, a courier came galloping 
at full speed, bringing missives to the count from 
his nephew, Don Diego Fernandez de Cordova, 
senior of Lucena and alcayde de los Donzeles, 1 
entreating him to hasten to his aid, as his town 
was beset by the. Moorish king, Boabdil el Chico, 
with a powerful army, who were actually setting 
fire to the gates. 

The count put his little army instantly in 
movement for Lucena, which is only one league 
from Cabra ; he was fired with the idea of hav- 
ing the Moorish king in person to contend with. 
By the time he reached Lucena, the Moors had 

1 The Donzeles were young cavaliers who had been pages 
in the royal household, but now formed an elite corps in the 
army. 



DE CABRA'S ARRIVAL AT LUCENA. 113 



surrounding country. He entered the town with 
a few of his cavaliers, and was received with joy 
by his nephew, whose whole force consisted but 
of eighty horse and three hundred foot. Don 
Diego Fernandez de Cordova was a young man, 
yet he was a prudent, careful, and capable officer. 
Having learnt, the evening before, that the Moors 
had passed the frontiers, he had gathered within 
his walls all the women and children from the 
environs ; had armed the men, sent couriers in all 
directions for succor, and had lighted alarm-fires 
on the mountains. 

Boabdil had arrived with his army at daybreak, 
and had sent in a message threatening to put the 
garrison to the sword if the place were not in- 
stantly surrendered. The messenger was a Moor 
of Granada, named Hamet, whom Don Diego had 
formerly known : he contrived to amuse him 
with negotiation, to gain time for succor to ar- 
rive. The fierce Ali Atar, losing all patience, 
had made an assault upon the town, and stormed 
like a fury at the gate ; but had been repulsed. 
Another and more serious attack was expected 
in the course of the night. 

When the count de Cabra had heard this ac- 
count of the situation of affairs, he turned to his 
nephew, with his usual alacrity of manner, and 
proposed that they should immediately sally forth 
in quest of the enemy. The prudent Don Diego 
remonstrated at the rashness of attacking so great 
a force w 7 ith a mere handful of men. " Nephew," 

said the count, " I came from Vaena with a de- 
8 



114 CONQUEST OF GRANADA 

termination to fight this Moorish king, and I will 
not be disappointed." 

" At any rate," replied Don Diego, " let us 
wait but two hours, and we shall have reinforce- 
ments which have been promised me from Ram- 
bla, Santaella, Monti 11a, and other places in the 
neighborhood." " If we await these," said the 
hardy count, " the Moors will be off, and all our 
trouble will have been in vain. You may await 
them, if you please ; I am resolved on fighting." 

The count paused for no reply , but, in his 
prompt and rapid manner, sallied forth to his 
men. The young alcayde de los Donzeles, though 
more prudent than his ardent uncle, was equally 
brave ; he determined to stand by him in his 
rash enterprise, and, summoning his little force, 
marched forth to join the count, who was already 
on the move. They then proceeded together in 
quest of the enemy. 

The Moorish army had ceased ravaging the 
country, and were not to be seen — the neighbor- 
hood being hilly, and broken with deep ravines. 
The count dispatched six scouts on horseback to 
reconnoitre, ordering them to return with all 
speed on discovering the enemy, and by no means 
to engage in skirmishing with stragglers. The 
scouts, ascending a high hill, beheld the Moorish 
army in a valley behind it, the cavalry ranged in 
five battalions keeping guard, while the foot sol- 
diers were seated on the grass making a repast. 
They returned immediately with the intelligence. 

The count now ordered the troops to march in 
the direction of the enemy. He and his nephew 



ATTACK ON THE MOORS. 115 



of Moorish cavalry had been formed into two, 
one of about nine hundred lances, the other of 
about six hundred. The whole force seemed pre- 
pared to march for the frontier. The foot sol- 
diers were already under way, with many prison- 
ers, and a great train of mules and beasts of 
burden, laden with booty. At a distance was 
Eoabdil el Chico : they could not distinguish his 
person, but they knew him by his superb black 
and white charger, magnificently caparisoned, and 
by his being surrounded by a numerous guard, 
sumptuously armed and attired. Old Ali Atar 
was careering about the valley with his usual im- 
patience, hurrying the march of the loitering 
troops. 

The eyes of the count de Cabra glistened with 
eager joy, as he beheld the royal prize within his 
reach. The immense disparity of their forces 
never entered into his mind. " By Santiago ! " 
said he to his nephew, as they hastened down 
the hill, " had we waited for more forces, the 
Moorish king and his army would have escaped 
us ! " 

The count now harangued his men, to inspirit 
them to this hazardous encounter. He told them 
not to be dismayed at the number of the Moors, for 
God often permitted the few to conquer the many: 
and he had great confidence, that, through the di- 
vine aid, they w T ere that day to achieve a signal 
victory, which should win them both riches and 
renown. He commanded that no man should 
hurl his lance at the enemy, but should keep it in 



116 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

his hands, and strike as many blows with it as he 
could. He warned them, also, never to shout ex- 
cept when the Moors did ; for when both armies 
shouted together, there was no perceiving which 
made the most noise and was the strongest. He 
desired his uncle Lope de Mendoza, and Diego 
de Cabrera, alcayde of Doiia Mencia, to alight 
and enter on foot in the battalion of infantry, to 
animate them to the combat. He appointed also 
the alcayde of Vaena and Diego de Clavijo, a 
cavalier of his household, to remain in the rear, 
and not to permit any one to lag behind, either 
to despoil the dead, or for any other purpose. 

Such were the orders given by this most adroit, 
active, and intrepid cavalier, to his little army, 
supplying by admirable sagacity and subtile man- 
agement, the want of a more numerous force. 
His orders being given, and all arrangements 
made, he threw aside his lance, drew his sword, 
and commanded his standard to be advanced 
against the enemy. 





CHAPTER XVI. 

The Battle of Lucena- 

HE Moorish king had descried the Span- 
ish forces at a distance, although a slight 
fog prevented his seeing them distinctly, 
and ascertaining their numbers. His old father- 
in-law, Ali Atar, was by his side, who, being a 
veteran marauder, was well acquainted with all 
the standards and armorial bearings of the fron- 
tiers. When the king beheld the ancient and 
long-disused banner of Cabra emerging from the 
mist, he turned to Ali Atar, and demanded whose 
ensign it was. The old borderer was for once 
at a loss, for the banner had not been displayed 
in battle in his time. " In truth," replied he, 
after a pause, " I have been considering that stan- 
dard for some time, but I confess, I do not know 
it. It cannot be the ensign of any single com- 
mander or community, for none would venture 
single-handed to attack you. It appears to be a 
dog, which device is borne by the towns of Baeza 
and Ubeda. If it be so, all Andalusia is in 
movement against you, and I would advise you 
to retire." 

The count de Cabra, in winding down the hill 
towards the Moors, found himself on much lower 



118 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

ground than the enemy ; he ordered in ali hasto 
that his standard should be taken back, so as to 
gain the vantage ground. The Moors, mistaking 
this for a retreat, rushed impetuously towards the 
Christians. The latter having gained the height 
proposed, charged upon them at the same moment, 
with the battle-cry of " Santiago ! " and dealing 
the first blows, laid many of the Moorish cava- 
liers in the dust. 

The Moors, thus checked in their tumultuous 
assault, were thrown into confusion, and began to 
give way, the Christians following hard upon 
them. Boabdil el Chico endeavored to rally 
them. " Hold ! hold ! for shame ! " cried he ; " let 
us not fly, at least until we know our enemy." 
The Moorish chivalry were stung by this reproof, 
and turned to make front, with the valor of men 
who feel that they are fighting under their mon- 
arch's eye. 

At this moment, Lorenzo de Porres, alcayde 
of Luque, arrived with fifty horse and one hun- 
dred foot, sounding an Italian trumpet from 
among a copse of oak trees, which concealed 
his force. The quick ear of old Ali Atar caught 
the note. u That is an Italian trumpet," said he 
to the king ; " the whole world seems in arms 
against your highness ! " 

The trumpet of Lorenzo de Porres was an- 
swered by that of the count de Cabra, in another 
direction, and it seemed to the Moors as if they 
were between two armies. Don Lorenzo, sally- 
ing from among the oaks, now charged upon the 
enemy : the latter did not wait to ascertain the 






THE MOORS DISCOMFITED, 119 



force of this new foe ; the confusion, the variety 
of alarms, the attacks from opposite quarters, the 
obscurity of the fog, all conspired to deceive them 
as to the number of their adversaries. Broken 
and dismayed, they retreated fighting ; and noth- 
ing but the presence and remonstrances of the 
king prevented their retreat from becoming a 
headlong flight. If Boabdil had displayed little 
of the talents of a general in the outset of his 
enterprise, he manifested courage and presence 
of mind amid the disasters of its close. Seconded 
by a small body of cavalry, the choicest and most 
loyal of his guards, he made repeated stand 
against the press of the foe, in a skirmishing re- 
treat of about three leagues ; and the way was 
strewn with the flower of his chivalry. At 
length, they came to the brook of Martin Gon- 
zales, or Mingozales, as it is called by the Moor- 
ish chroniclers ; which, swollen by recent rain, was 
now a deep and turbid torrent. Here a scene of 
confusion ensued. Horse and foot precipitated 
themselves into the stream. Some of the horses 
stuck fast in the mire and blocked up the ford ; 
others trampled down the foot-soldiers ; many 
were drowned and more carried down the stream. 
Such of the foot-soldiers as gained the opposite 
side, immediately took to flight ; the horsemen, 
too, who had struggled through the stream, gave 
reins to their steeds and scoured for the frontier. 
The little band of devoted cavaliers about the 
king serried their forces, to keep the enemy in 
check, fighting with them hand to hand, until he 
should have time to cross. In the tumult, his 



120 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

horse was shot down, and he became environed 
in the throng of foot-soldiers, struggling forward 
to the ford, and in peril from the lances of their 
pursuers. Conscious that his rich array made 
him a conspicuous object, he retreated along the 
bank of the river, and endeavored to conceal 
himself in a thicket of willows and tamarisks. 
Thence, looking back, he beheld his loyal band 
at length give way, supposing, no doubt, he had 
effected his escape. They crossed the ford, fol- 
lowed pell-mell by the enemy, and several of 
them were struck down in the stream. 

While JBoabdil was meditating to throw him- 
self into the water, and endeavor to swim across, 
he was discovered by Martin Hurtado, regidor of 
Lucena, a brave cavalier, who had been captive 
in the prisons of Granada, and exchanged for a 
Christian knight. Hurtado attacked the king 
with a pike, but was kept at bay ; until seeing 
other soldiers approaching, Boabdil cried for 
quarters ; proclaiming himself a person of high 
rank, who would pay a noble ransom. At this 
moment came up several men of Vaena, of the 
troop of the count de Cabra. Hearing the talk 
of ransom and noticing the splendid attire of the 
Moor,, they endeavored to secure for themselves 
so rich a prize. One of them seized hold of 
Boabdil, but the latter resented the indignity, by 
striking him to the earth with a blow of his pon- 
iard. Others of Hurtado's townsmen coming up, 
a contest arose between the men of Lucena and 
Vaena, as to who had a right to the prisoner. 
The noise brought Don Diego Fernandez de 



CAPTURE OF BOABDIL. 121 

Cordova to the spot, who, by his authority, put 
au end to the altercation. Boabdil, finding him- 
self unknown by all present, concealed his quality, 
giving himself out as the son of Aben Alnayer, 
a cavalier of the royal household. 1 Don Diego 
treated him with great courtesy ; put a red band 
round his neck in sign of his being a captive, and 
sent him under an escort to the castle of Lucena, 
where his quality would be ascertained, his ran- 
som arranged, and the question settled as to who 
had made him prisoner. 

This done, the count put spurs to his horse, 
and hastened to rejoin the count de Cabra, who 
was in hot pursuit of the enemy. He overtook 
him at a stream called Reanaul ; and they contin- 
ued together to press on the skirts of the flying 
army during the remainder of the day. The pur- 
suit was almost as hazardous as the battle ; for, 
had the enemy at any time recovered from their 
panic, they might, by a sudden reaction, have over- 
whelmed the small force of their pursuers. To 
guard against this peril, the wary count kept his 
battalion always in close order, and had a body 
of a hundred chosen lancers in the advance. The 
Moors kept up a Parthian retreat ; several times 
they turned to make battle ; but, seeing this solid 
body of steeled warriors pressing upon them, they 
again took to flight. 

The main retreat of the army was along the 
valley watered by the Xenil, and opening through 
the mountains of Algaringo to the city of Loxa. 
The alarm-fires of the preceding night had aroused 

1 Gsribay, lib. 40, cap. 31. 



122 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the country ; every man snatched sword an J 
buckler from the wall, and the towns and villages 
poured forth their warriors to harass the retreat- 
ing foe. Ali Atar kept the main force of the 
army together, and turned fiercely from time to 
time upon his pursuers ; he was like a wolf, hun- 
ted through the country he had often made deso- 
late by his maraudings. 

The alarm of this invasion had reached the 
city of Antiquera, where were several of the cava- 
liers who had escaped from the carnage in the 
mountains of Malaga. Their proud minds were 
festering with their late disgrace, and their only 
prayer was for vengeance on the infidels. No 
sooner did they hear of the Moor being over the 
border, that they were armed and mounted for 
action. Don Alonzo de Aguilar led them forth ; 
— a small body of but forty horsemen, but ali 
cavaliers of prowess, and thirsting for revenge. 
They came upoc the foe on the banks of the 
Xenil, where it winds through the vallevs of Cor- 
dova. The river, swelled by the late rains, was 
deep and turbulent, and only fordable at certain 
places. The main body of the army was gathered 
in confusion on the banks, endeavoring to ford the 
stream, protected by the cavalry of Ali Atar. 

No sooner did the little band of Alonzo de 
Aguilar come in sight of the Moors, than fury 
flashed from their eyes. " Remember the moun- 
tains of Malaga !" cried they to each other, as they 
rushed to combat. Their charge was desperate, 
but was gallantly resisted. A scrambling and 
bloodv fight ensued, hand to hand and sword to 



. DEATH OF ALI ATAR. 123 

sword, sometimes on land, sometimes in the water. 
Many were lanced on the banks ; others, throwing 
themselves into the river, sank with the weight of 
their armor, and were drowned ; some, grappling to- 
gether, fell from their horses, but continued their 
struggle in the waves, and helm and turban rolled 
together down the stream. The Moors were far 
greater in number, and among them were many 
warriors of rank ; but they were disheartened by 
defeat, while the Christians were excited even to 
desperation. 

Ali Atar alone preserved all his fire and energy, 
amid his reverses. He had been enraged at the 
defeat of the army, and the ignominious flight he 
had been obliged to make through a country which 
had so often been the scene of his exploits ; but 
to be thus impeded in his flight, and harassed 
and insulted by a mere handful of warriors, roused 
the violent passions of the old Moor to perfect 
frenzy. He had marked Don Alonzo de Aguilar 
dealing his blows (says Agapida), with the pious 
vehemence of a righteous knight, who knows that 
in every wound inflicted upon the infidels, he is 
doing God service. Ali Atar spurred his steed 
along the bank of the river, to come upon Don 
Alonzo by surprise. The back of the warrior 
was towards him ; and, collecting all his force, 
the Moor hurled his lance to transfix him on the 
spot. The lance was not thrown with the usual 
accuracy of Ali Atar : it tore away a part of the 
cuirass of Don Alonzo, but failed to inflict a 
wound. The Moor rushed upon Don Alonzo 
with his scimetar; but the latter was on the alert, 



124 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and parried his blow. They fought desperately 
upon the borders of the river, alternately pressing 
each other into the stream, and fighting their way 
again up the bank, Ali Atar was repeatedly 
wounded ; and Don Alonzo, having pity on his 
age, would have spared his life : he called upon 
him to surrender. " Never," cried Ali Atar, " to 
a Christian dog ! " The words were scarce out 
of his mouth, when the sword of Don Alonzo 
clove his turbaned head, and sank deep into the 
brain. He fell dead without a groan ; his body 
rolled into the Xenil, nor was it ever found nor 
recognized. 1 Thus fell Ali Atar, who had long 
been the terror of Andalusia. As he had hated 
and warred upon the Christians all his life, so he 
died in the very act of bitter hostility. 

The fall of Ali Atar put an end to the transient 
stand of the cavalry. Horse and foot mingled to- 
gether, in the desperate struggle across the Xenil ; 
and many were trampled down and perished be- 
neath the waves. Don Alonzo and his band con- 
tinued to harass them until they crossed the fron- 
tier ; and every blow, struck home to the Moors, 
seemed to lighten the load of humiliation and sor- 
row which had weighed heavy on their hearts. 

h\ this disastrous rout, the Moors lost upwards 
of five thousand killed and made prisoners ; many 
of whom were of the most noble lineages of Gra- 
nada : numbers fled to rocks and mountains, where 
they were subsequently taken. 

Boabdil remained a prisoner in the state tower 
of the citadel of Lucena, under the vigilance of 
1 Cava de los Palacios. 






TROPHIES OF VICTORY. 125 



Alonzo de Rueda, esquire of the alcayde of th*. 
Donzeles ; his quality was still unknown, until 
the 24th of April, three days after the battle. 
On that day some prisoners, natives of Granada, 
just brought in, caught sight of the unfortunate 
Ik>abdil, despoiled of his royal robes. Throwing 
themselves at his feet, they broke forth in loud 
lamentations ; apostrophizing him as their lord and 
king. 

Great was the astonishment and triunTph of 
the count de Cabra and Don Diego Fernandez 
de Cordova on learning the rank of the supposed 
cavalier. They both ascended to the castle to see 
that he was lodged in a style befitting his quality. 
When the good count beheld, in the dejected cap- 
tive before him, the monarch who had so recently 
appeared in royal splendor, surrounded by an army, 
his generous heart was touched by sympathy. He 
said everything to comfort him that became a cour- 
teous and Christian knight, observing that the 
same mutability of things which had suddenly 
brought him low, might as rapidly restore him to 
prosperity, since in this world nothing is stable, 
and sorrow, like joy, has its allotted term. 

The action here recorded was called by some 
the battle of Lucena, by others the battle of the 
Moorish king, because of the capture of Boabdil. 
Twenty-two banners, taken on the occasion, were 
borne in triumph into Vaena on the 23d of April, 
St. George's day, and hung up in the church. 
There they remain (says a historian of after times) 
to this day. Once a year, on the festival of St. 
George, they are borne about in procession by the 



126 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 






inhabitants, who, at the same time, give thanks to 
God for this signal victory granted to their fore- 
fathers. 1 

1 Several circumstances relative to the capture of Boabdil 
vary in this from the first, edition, in consequence of later light 
thrown on the subject by Don Miguel Lafuente Alcantara in 
his history of Granada. He has availed himself much of 
various ancient documents relative to the battle, especially 
the history of the House of Cordova, by the Abbot of Rute, 
a descendant of that family; a rare manuscript, of which few 
copies exist. 

The question as to the person entitled to the honor and 
reward for having captured the king, long continued a matter 
of dispute between the people of Lucena and Vaena. On the 
20th of October, 1520, about thirty-seven years after the event, 
an examination of several witnesses to the fact took place 
before the chief justice of the fortress of Lucena, at the in- 
stance of Bartolomy Hurtado, the son of Martin, when the 
claim of his father was established by Dona Lenora Hernan- 
dez, lady in attendant on the mother of the alcayde of los 
Donzeles, who testified being present when Boabdil signalized 
Martin Hurtado as his captor. 

The chief honor of the day, and of course of the defeat and 
capture of the Moorish monarch, was given by the sovereign 
to the count de Cabra: the second to his nephew, Don Diego 
Fernandez de Cordova. 

Among the curious papers cited by Alcantara, is one exist- 
ing in the archives of the House of Medina Celi, giving the 
account of the treasurer of Don Diego Fernandez, as to the 
sums expended by his lord in the capture of the king; the re- 
ward given to some soldiers for a standard of the king's which 
they had taken; to others for wounds they had received, etc. 
Another paper speaks of an auction at Lucena on the 28th 
of April, of horses and mules taken in the battle. Another 
paper states the gratuities of the alcayde of los Donzeles to 
the soldiery — four fanegas, or about four hundred weight of 
wheat and a lance to each horseman, two fanegas of wheat 
stud a lance to each foot-soldier. 




CHAPTER XVII. 



Lamentations of the Moors for the Battle of Lucena. 




HE sentinels looked out from the watch- 
towers of Loxa, along the valley of the 
Xenil, which passes through the moun- 
tains of Algaringo. They looked to behold the 
king returning in triumph, at the head of his 
shining host, laden with the spoil of the unbeliever. 
They looked to behold the standard of their 
warlike idol, the fierce Ali Atar, borne by the 
chivalry of Loxa, ever foremost in the wars of 
the border. 

In the evening of the 21st of April, they 
descried a single horseman urging his faltering 
steed along the banks of the Xenil. As he drew 
near, they perceived, by the flash of arms, that he 
was a warrior ; and on nearer approach, by the 
richness of his armor and the caparison of his 
steed, they knew him to be a warrior of rank. 

He reached Loxa, faint and aghast ; his courser 
covered with foam, and dust, and blood, panting 
and staggering with fatigue, and gashed with 
wounds. Having brought his master in safety, 
he sank down and died before the gate of the city. 
The soldiers at the gate gathered round the 
cavalier, as he stood by his expiring steed ; they 



128 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. - 

knew him to be Cidi Caleb, nephew of the chief 
alfaqui of the mosque in the Albaycin, and their 
hearts were filled with fearful forebodings. 

Ci Cavalier," said they, " how fares it with the 
king and army ? " 

He cast his hand mournfully towards the land 
of the Christians. " There they lie ! " exclaimed 
he. " The Heavens have fallen upon them. All 
are lost ! all dead ! " 1 

Upon this, there was a great cry of consterna- 
tion among the people, and loud wailings of 
women : for the flower of the youth of Loxa were 
with the army. 

An old Moorish soldier, scarred in many a 
border battle, stood leaning on his lance by the 
gateway. " Where is Aii Atar ? " demanded he 
eagerly. " If he lives, the army cannot be 
lost." " 

" I saw his helm cleft by the Christian sword ; 
his body is floating in the Xenil." 

When the soldier heard these words, he smote 
his breast and threw dust upon his head ; for he 
was an old follower of Ali Atar. 

Cidi Caleb gave himself no repose, but, mount- 
ing another steed, hastened towards Granada. 
As he passed through the villages and hamlets, he 
spread sorrow around ; for their chosen men had 
followed the king to the wars. 

When he entered the gates of Granada, and 
announced the loss of the king and army, a voice 
of horror went throughout the city. Every one 

1 Bernaldez ( Cur a de las P niacins) Hist, de los Reyes CatoL, 
MS. cap. 61. 






A HERALD OF DEFEAT. 12^ 

thought but of his own share iu the general 
calamity, and crowded round the bearer of ill ti- 
dings. One asked after a father, another after a 
brother, some after a lover, and many a mother 
after her son. His replies all spoke of wounds 
and death. To one he replied, " I saw thy father 
pierced with a lance, as he defended the person 
of the king." To another, ** Thy brother fell 
wounded under the hoofs of the horses ; but there 
was no time to aid him, for the Christian cavalry 
were upon us." To another, u I saw the horse 
of thy lover, covered with blood and galloping 
without his rider." To another, " Thy son 
fought by my side, on the banks of the Xenil : 
we were surrounded by the enemy, and driven 
into the stream. I heard him cry upon- Allah, 
in the midst of the waters : when I reached the 
I other bank, he was no longer by my side." 

Cidi Caleb passed on, leaving all Granada in 
lamentation ; he urged his steed up the steep 
avenue of trees and fountains that leads to the 
Alhambra, nor stopped until he arrived before the 
gate of Justice. Ayxa, the mother of Boabdil, 
and Morayma, his beloved and tender wife, had 
daily watched from the tower of Gomeres, to be- 
hold his triumphant return. Who shall describe 
their affliction, when they heard the tidings of 
Cidi Caleb ? The sultana Ayxa spake not much, 
but sat as one entranced. Every now and then, 
a deep sigh burst forth, but she raised her eyes 
to Heaven : " It is the will of Allah ! " said she, 
and with these words endeavored to repress the 
9 



130 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

agonies of a mother's sorrow. The tender Mo- 
rayma threw herself on the earth, and gave way 
to the full turbulence of her feelings, bewailing 
her husband and her father. The high-minded 
Ayxa rebuked the violence of her grief: "Mod- 
erate these transports, my daughter," said she ; 
" remember magnanimity should be the attribute 
of princes ; it becomes not them to give way to 
clamorous sorrow, like common and vulgar 
minds." But Morayma could only deplore her 
loss, with the anguish of a tender woman. She 
shut herself up in her mirador, and gazed all day, 
with streaming eyes, upon the vega. Every 
object recalled the causes of her affliction. The 
river Xenil, which ran shining amidst groves and 
gardens, was the same on whose banks had 
perished her father, Ali Atar ; before her lay the 
road to Loxa, by which Boabdil had departed, in 
martial state, surrounded by the chivalry of 
Granada. Ever and anon, she would burst into 
an agony of grief. " Alas ! my father ! " she 
would exclaim ; " the river runs smiling before 
me, that covers thy mangled remains ; who will 
gather them to an honored tomb, in the land of 
the unbeliever? And thou, O. Boabdil, light of 
my eyes ! joy of my heart ! life of my life ! woe 
the day, and woe the hour, that I saw thee depart 
from these walls. The road by which thou hast 
departed is solitary ; never will it be gladdened 
by thy return ! the mountain thou hast traversed 
lies like a cloud in the distance, and all beyond is 
darkness." 






8 ONGS OF LA MEN TA TION. 1 3 1 



The royal minstrels were summoned to assuage 
her sorrows ; they attuned their instruments to 
cheerful strains ; but in a little while the anguish 
of their hearts prevailed, and turned their songs 
to lamentations. 

" Beautiful Granada ! " exclaimed they, " how 
is thy glory faded ! The flower of thy chivalry 
lies low in the land of the stranger ; no longer 
does the Vivarrambla echo to the tramp of steed 
and sound of trumpet ; no longer is it crowded 
with thy youthful nobles, gloriously arrayed for 
the tilt and tourney. Beautiful Granada ! the 
soft note of the lute no longer floats through thy 
moonlit streets ; the serenade is no more heard 
beneath thy balconies ; the lively Castanet is 
silent upon thy hills ; the graceful dance of the 
Zambra is no more seen beneath thy bowers ! 
Beautiful Granada ! why is the Alhambra so lorn 
and desolate ! The orange and myrtle still 
breathe their perfumes into its silken chambers ; 
the nightingale still sings within its groves ; its 
marble halls are still refreshed with the plash of 
fountains and the gush of limpid rills. Alas ! 
alas ! the countenance of the king no longer shines 
within those halls. The light of the Alhambra 
is set for ever ! " 

Thus all Granada, say the Arabian chroniclers, 
gave itself up to lamentation ; there was nothing 
but the voice of wailing, from the palace to the 
cottage. All joined to deplore their youthful 
monarch, cut down in the freshness and promise 
of his youth ; many feared that the prediction of 
the astrologers was about to be fulfilled, and that 



132 



CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



the downfall of the kingdom would follow the 
death of Boabdil ; while all declared, that had he 
survived, he was the very sovereign calculated to 
restore the realm to its ancient prosperity and 
glory. 





CHAPTER XVIII, 

How Muley Abul Hassan profited by the Misfortunes of hia 
son Boabdil. 

N unfortunate death atones, with the 
world, for a multitude of errors. While 
the populace thought their youthful 
monarch had perished in the field, nothing could 
exceed their grief for his loss, and their adoration 
of his memory : when, however, they learnt that 
he was still alive, and had surrendered himself 
captive to the Christians, their feelings underwent 
an instant change. They decried his talents as a 
commander, his courage as a soldier ; they railed 
at his expedition, as rash and ill-conducted ; and 
they reviled him for not having dared to die on 
the field of battle, rather than surrender to the 
enemy. 

The alfaquis, as usual, mingled with the popu- 
lace, and artfully guided their discontents. u Be- 
hold," exclaimed they, " the prediction is ac- 
complished, which was pronounced at the birth 
of Boabdil. He has been seated on the throne, 
and the kingdom has suffered downfall and dis- 
grace by his defeat and captivity. Comfort your- 
selves, Moslems ! The evil day has passed by ; 
the prophecy is fulfilled : the sceptre which has 



134 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

been broken in th<» feeble hand of Boabdil, is des- 
tined to resume its former sway in the vigorous 
grasp of Abul Hassan." 

The people were struck with the wisdom of 
these words : they rejoiced that the baleful pre- 
diction, which had so long hung over them, was 
at an end ; and declared, that none but Muley 
Abul Hassan had the valor and capacity necessary 
for the protection of the kingdom, in this time of 
trouble. 

The longer the captivity of Boabdil continued, 
the greater grew the popularity of his father. 
One city after another renewed allegiance to him ; 
for power attracts power, and fortune creates 
fortune. At length he was enabled to return to 
Granada, and establish himself once more in the 
Alhambra. At his approach, his repudiated 
spouse, the sultana Ayxa, gathered together the 
family and treasures of her captive son, and re- 
tired, with a handful of the nobles, into the Al- 
baycin, the rival quarter of the city, the inhab- 
itants of which still retained feelings of loyalty to 
Boabdil. Here she fortified herself, and held the 
semblance of a court in the name of her son. 
The fierce Muley Abul Hassan would have 
willingly carried fire and sword into this factious 
quarter of the capital ; but he dared not confide 
in his new and uncertain popularity. Many of 
the nobles detested him for his past cruelty ; and 
a large portion of the soldiery, besides many of 
the people of his own party, respected the virtues 
of Ayxa la Horra, and pitied the misfortunes of 
Boabdil. 






THE SOVEREIGNS OF GRANADA 



135 



Granada therefore presented the singular spec- 
tacle of two sovereignties within the same city. 
The old king fortified himself in the lofty towers 
of the Alhambra, as much against his own subjects 
as against the Christians ; while Ayxa, with the 
zeal of a mother's affection, which waxes warmer 
and warmer towards her offspring when in ad- 
versity, still maintained the standard of Boabdii 
on the rival fortress of the Alcazaba, and kept 
his powerful faction alive within the walls of the 
Albaycin. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

Captivity of Boabdil el Chico. 




HE unfortunate Boabdil remained a pris 
oner closely guarded, but treated with 
great deference and respect, in the castle 
of Lucena, where the noblest apartments were 
appointed for his abode. From the towers of his 
prison, he beheld the town below filled with 
armed men ; and the lofty hill on which it was 
built, girdled by massive walls and ramparts, on 
which a vigilant watch was maintained night and 
day. The mountains around were studded with 
watch-towers, overlooking the lonely roads which 
led to Granada, so that a turban could not stir 
over the border without the alarm being given, 
and the whole country put on the alert. Boabdil 
saw that there was no hope of escape from such 
a fortress, and that any attempt to rescue him 
would be equally in vain. His heart was filled 
with anxiety, as he thought on the confusion and 
ruin which his captivity must cause in his affairs ; 
while sorrows of a softer kind overcame his for- 
titude, as he thought on the evils it might bring 
upon his family. 

A few days only had passed away, when mis- 
sives arrived from the Castilian sovereigns. Fer- 



: 






CAPTIVITY OF BOABDIL. 137 



dinand had been transported with joy at hearing 
of the capture of the Moorish monarch, seeing 
the deep and politic uses that might be made of 
such ah event ; but the magnanimous spirit of 
Isabella was filled with compassion for the un- 
fortunate captive. Their messages to Boabdil 
were full of sympathy and consolation, breathing 
that high and gentle courtesy which dwells in 
noble minds. 

This magnanimity in his foe cheered the de- 
jected spirit of the captive monarch. " Tell my 
sovereigns, the king and queen," said he to the 
messenger, " that I cannot be unhappy, being in 
the power of such high and mighty princes, es- 
pecially since they partake so largely of that grace 
and goodness which Allah bestows upon the mon- 
archs whom he greatly loves. Tell them further, 
that I had long thought of submitting myself to 
their sway, to receive the kingdom of Granada 
from their hands, in the same manner that my 
ancestor received it from king John II., father to 
the gracious queen. My greatest sorrow, in this 
my captivity, is, that I must appear to do that 
from force, which I would fain have done from 
inclination." 

In the mean time, Muley Abul Hassan, finding 
the faction of his son still formidable in Granada, 
was anxious to consolidate his power, by gaining 
possession of the person of Boabdil. For this 
purpose he sent an embassy to the Catholic mon- 
archs, offering large terms for the ransom, or 
rather the purchase of his son ; proposing, among 
other conditions, to release the count of Cifuentes 



138 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and nine other of his most distinguished captives, 
and to enter into a treaty of confederacy with the 
sovereigns. Neither did the implacable father 
make any scruple of testifying his indifference 
whether his son were delivered up alive or dead, 
so that his person were placed assuredly within 
his power. 

The humane heart of Isabella revolted at the 
idea of giving up the unfortunate prince into the 
hands of his most unnatural and inveterate 
enemy ; a disdainful refusal was therefore re- 
turned to the old monarch, whose message had 
been couched in a vaunting spirit. He was in- 
formed that the Castilian sovereigns would listen 
to no proposals of peace from Muley Abul Has- 
san, until he should lay down his arms, and offer 
them in all humility. 

Overtures in a different spirit were made by 
the mother of Boabdil, the sultana Ayxa la Horra, 
with the concurrence of the party which still re- 
mained faithful to him. It was thereby proposed, 
that Mahomet Abdallah, otherwise called Boab- 
dil, should hold his crown as vassal to the Cas- 
tilian sovereigns, paying an annual tribute, and 
releasing seventy Christian captives annually, for 
five years ; that he should, moreover, pay a large 
sum, upon the spot, for his ransom, and at the 
same time give freedom to four hundred Chris- 
tians to be chosen by the king : that he should also 
engage to be always ready to render military aid, 
and should corne to the Cortes, or assemblage of 
nobles and distinguished vassals of the crown, 
whenever summoned. His only son, and the 



B0ABD1L TAKEN TO CORDOVA. 139 

sons of twelve distinguished Moorish houses, were 
to be delivered as hostages. 

An embassy, composed of the alcayde Aben 
Comixa, Muley the royal standard-bearer, and 
other distinguished cavaliers, bore this proposition 
to the Spanish Court at Cordova, where they 
were received by King Ferdinand. Queen Isa- 
bella was absent at the time. He was anxious 
to consult her in so momentous an affair ; or 
rather, he was fearful of proceeding too precipi- 
tately, and not drawing from this fortunate event 
all the advantage of which it was susceptible. 
Without returning any reply, therefore, to the 
mission, he ordered that the captive monarch 
should be brought to Cordova. 

The alcayde of the Donzeles was the bearer 
of this mandate, and summoned all the hidalgos 
of Lucena and of his own estates, to form an 
honorable escort for the illustrious prisoner. In 
this style he conducted him to the capital. The 
cavaliers and authorities of Cordova came forth 
to receive the captive king with all due cere- 
mony ; and especial care was taken to prevent 
any taunt or insult from the multitude, or any- 
thing that might remind him of his humiliation. 
In this way he entered the once proud capital of 
the Abda'rahmans, and was lodged in the house 
of the king's major-domo. Ferdinand, however, 
declined seeing the Moorish monarch. He was 
still undetermined what course to pursue, — 
whether to retain him prisoner, set him at liberty 
on ransom, or treat him with politic magnanimity ; 
and each course would require a different kind 



140 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

of reception. Until this point should be resolved, 
therefore, he gave him in charge to Martin de 
Alarcon, alcayde of the ancient fortress of Por- 
cuna, with orders to guard him strictly, but to 
treat him with the distinction and deference due 
unto a prince. These commands were strictly 
obeyed ; he was escorted, as before, in royal state, 
to the fortress which was to form his prison ; and, 
with the exception of being restrained in his lib- 
erty, was as nobly entertained there as he could 
have been in his regal palace at Granada. 

In the mean time, Ferdinand availed himself 
of this critical moment, while Granada was dis- 
tracted with factions and dissensions, and before 
he had concluded any treaty with Boabdil, to 
make a puissant and ostentatious inroad into the 
very heart of the kingdom, at the head of his 
most illustrious nobles. He sacked and destroyed 
several towns and castles, and extended his rav- 
ages to the very gates of Granada. Muley Abul 
Hassan did not venture to oppose him. His city 
was filled with troops, but he was uncertain of 
their affection. He dreaded that, should he sally 
forth, the gates of Granada might be closed 
against him by the faction of the Albaycin. 

The old Moor stood on the lofty tower of the 
Alhambra (says Antonio Agapida), grinding his 
teeth, and foaming like a tiger shut up in his 
cage, as he beheld the glittering battalions of the 
Christians wheeling about the vega, and the stan- 
dard of the cross shining forth from among the 
smoke of infidel villages and hamlets. The most 
Catholic king (continues Agapida) would gladly 



FERDINAND RAVAGES GRANADA. 14 1 

have continued this righteous ravage, but his 
munitions began to fail. Satisfied, therefore, 
with having laid waste the country of the enemy, 
and insulted Muley Abul Hassan in his very cap- 
ital, he returned to Cordova covered with laurels, 
and his army laden with spoils ; and now be- 
thought himself of coming to an immediate decis- 
ion, in regard to his royal prisoner. 





CHAPTER XX. 



Of the Treatment of Boabdil by the Castilian Sovereigns. 




STATELY convention was held by 
king Ferdinand in the ancient city of 
Cordova, composed of several of the most 
reverend prelates and renowned cavaliers of the 
kingdom, to determine upon the fate of the unfor- 
tunate Boabdil. 

Don Alonza de Cardenas, the worthy master 
of Santiago, was one of the first who gave his 
counsel. He was a pious and zealous knight, 
rigid in his devotion to the faith ; and his holy 
zeal had been inflamed to peculiar vehemence, 
since his disastrous crusade among the mountains 
of Malaga. He inveighed with ardor against 
any compromise or compact with the infidels ; 
the object of this war, he observed, was not the 
subjection of the Moors, but their utter expulsion 
from the land ; so that there might no longer re- 
main a single stain of Mahometanism throughout 
Christian Spain. He gave it as his opinion, there- 
fore, that the captive king ought not to be set at 
liberty. 

Roderigo Ponce de Leon, marques of Cadiz, 
on the contrary, spoke warmly for the release of 
Boabdil. He pronounced it a measure of sound 



TREATMENT OF BOABDIL. 143 

policy, even if done without conditions. It would 
tend to keep up the civil war in Granada, which 
was as a fire consuming the entrails of the enemy, 
and effecting more for the interests of Spain, 
without expense, than all the conquests of its 
arms. 

The grand cardinal of Spain, Don Pedro 
Gonzalez de Mendoza, coincided in opinion with 
the marques of Cadiz. Nay (added that pious 
prelate and politic statesman), it would be sound 
wisdom to furnish the Moor with men and money, 
and all other necessaries, to promote the civil war 
in Granada : by this means would be produced 
great benefit to the service of God, since we are 
assured by his infallible word, that " a kingdom 
divided against itself cannot stand." 1 

Ferdinand weighed these counsels in his mind, 
but was slow in coming to a decision ; he was 
religiously attentive to his own interests (observes 
Fray Antonio Agapida), knowing himself to be 
but an instrument of Providence in this holy war, 
and that, therefore, in consulting his own advan- 
tage he was promoting the interests of the faith. 
The opinion of queen Isabella relieved him from 
his perplexity. That high-minded princess was 
zealous for the promotion of the faith, but not for 
the extermination of the infidels. The Moorish 
kings had held their thrones as vassals to her 
progenitors ; she was content at present to accord 
the same privilege, and that the royal prisoner 
should be liberated on condition of becoming a 
vassal to the crown. By this means might be ef- 
1 Salazar. Cronica del Gran Cardinal, p. 188. 



144 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

fected the deliverance of many Christian captives, 
who were languishing in Moorish chains. 

King Ferdinand adopted the magnanimous 
measure recommended by the queen ; but he ac- 
companied it with several shrewd conditions; ex- 
acting tribute, military services, and safe passages 
and maintenance for Christian troops, throughout 
the places which should adhere to Boabdil. The 
captive king readily submitted to these stipula- 
tions, and swore, after the manner of his faith, to 
observe them with exactitude. A truce was ar- 
ranged for two years, during which the Castilian 
sovereigns engaged to maintain him on his throne, 
and to assist him in recovering all places which 
he had lost during his captivity. 

When Boabdil el Chico had solemnly agreed to 
this arrangement, in the castle of Porcuna, prep- 
arations were made to receive him in Cordova 
in regal style. Superb steeds richly caparisoned, 
and raiments of brocade, and silk, and the most 
costly cloths, with all other articles of sumptuous 
array, were furnished to him and to fifty Moorish 
cavaliers, who had come to treat for his ransom, 
that he might appear in state befitting the mon- 
arch of Granada, and the most distinguished vas- 
sal of the Castilian sovereigns. Money was also 
advanced to maintain him in suitable grandeur, 
during his residence at the Castilian court, and 
his return to his dominions. Finally, it was or- 
dered by the sovereigns, that when he came to 
Cordova, all the nobles and dignitaries of the 
court should go forth to receive him. 

A question now arose among certain of those 



BOABDIL A VASSAL. 14*) 

ancient and experienced men, who grow gray 
about a court in the profound study of forms and 
ceremonials, with whom a point of punctilio is as 
a vast political right, and who contract a sublime 
and awful idea of the external dignity of the 
throne. Certain of these court sages propounded 
the momentous question, whether the Moorish 
monarch, coming to do homage as a vassal, ought 
not to kneel and kiss the hand of the king. 
This was immediately decided in the affirmative, 
by a large number of ancient cavaliers, accus- 
tomed (says Antonio Agapida) to the lofty punc- 
tilio of our most dignified court and transcendent 
sovereigns. The king, therefore, was informed 
by those who arranged the ceremonials, that 
when the Moorish king appeared in his presence, 
he was expected to extend his royal hand to re- 
ceive the kiss of homage. 

u I should certainly do so," replied king Fer- 
dinand, " were he at liberty, and in his own king- 
dom ; but I certainly shall not do so, seeing that 
he is a prisoner and in mine." 

The courtiers loudly applauded the magna- 
nimity of this reply; though many condemned it 
in secret, as savoring of too much generosity 
towards an infidel ; and the worthy Jesuit, Fray 
Antonio Agapida, fully concurs in their opinion. 

The Moorish king entered Cordova with his 
little train of faithful knights, and escorted by 
all the nobility and chivalry of the Castilian 
court. He was conducted, with great state and 
ceremony, to the royal palace. When he came 
in presence of Ferdinand, he knelt and offered to 
10 



146 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

kiss his hand, not merely in homage as liis sub- 
ject, but in gratitude for his liberty. Ferdinand 
declined the token of vassalage, and raised him 
graciously from the earth. An interpreter began, 
in the name of Boabdil, to laud the magnanimity 
of the Castilian monarch, and to promise the 
most implicit submission. " Enough," said king 
Ferdinand, interrupting the interpreter in the 
midst of his harangue : " there is no need of 
these compliments. I trust in his integrity, that 
he will do everything becoming a good man and 
a good king." With these words he received 
Boabdil el Chico into his royal friendship and 
protection. 







CHAPTER XXI. 



Return of Boabdil from Captivity. 




N the month of August, a noble Moor 
of the race of the Abencerrages, arrived 
jj with a splendid retinue at the city of 
Cordova, bringing with him the son of Boabdil el 
Chico, and other of the noble youth of Granada, 
as hostages for the fulfillment of the terms of ran- 
som. When the Moorish king beheld his son, 
his only child, who was to remain in his stead, a 
sort of captive in a hostile land, he folded him in 
his arm3 and wept over him. " Woe the day 
that I was born ! " exclaimed he, fc and evil the 
stars that presided at my birth ! Well was I 
called El Zogoybi, or the Unlucky ; for sorrow is 
heaped upon me by my father, and sorrow do I 
transmit to my son ! " The afflicted heart of 
Boabdil, however, was soothed by the kindness of 
the Christian sovereigns, who received the hostage 
prince with a tenderness suited to his age, and a 
distinction worthy of his rank. They delivered 
him in charge to the worthy alcayde Martin de 
Alarcon, who had treated his father with such 
courtesy during his confinement in the castle of Por- 
cuna, giving orders, that, after the departure of the 
latter, his son should be entertained, with great 
honor and princely attention, in the same fortress. 



148 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

On the 2d of September, a guard of honor as- 
sembled at the gate of the mansion of Boabdil, to 
escort him to the frontiers of his kingdom. He 
pressed his child to his heart at parting, but he 
uttered not a word ; for there were many Chris- 
tian eyes, to behold his emotion. He mounted 
his steed, and never turned his head to look again 
upon the youth; but those who were near him 
observed the vehement struggle that shook his 
frame, wherein the anguish of the father had well 
nigh subdued the studied equanimity of the king. 

Boabdil el Chico and king Ferdinand sallied 
forth, side by side, from Cordova, amidst the ac- 
clamations of a prodigious multitude. When they 
were a short distance from the city, they sepa- 
rated, with many gracious expressions on the part 
of the Castilian monarch, and many thankful ac- 
knowledgments from his late captive, whose heart 
had been humbled by adversity. Ferdinand de- 
parted for Guadalupe, and Boabdil for Granada. 
The latter was accompanied by a guard of honor; 
and the viceroys of Andalusia, and the generals on 
the frontier, were ordered to furnish him with es- 
corts, and to show him all possible honor on his 
journey. In this way he was conducted in royal 
state through the country he had entered to rav- 
age, and was placed in safety in his own domin- 
ions. 

He was met on the frontier by the principal 
nobles and cavaliers of his court, who had been 
secretly sent by his mother, the sultana Ayxa, to 
escort him to the capital. The heart of Boabdil 
was lifted up for a moment, when he found him- 



B0ABD1US RETURN FROM CAPTIVITY. 149 

self on his own territories, surrounded by Moslem 
knights, with his own banners waving over his 
head ; and he began to doubt the prediction of 
the astrologers : he soon found cause, however, to 
moderate his exultation. The royal train which 
had come to welcome him, was but scanty in num- 
ber, and he missed many of his most zealous and 
obsequious courtiers. He had returned, indeed, to 
his kingdom, but it was no longer the devoted king- 
dom he had left. The story of his vassalage to the 
Christian sovereigns had been made use of by his 
father to ruin him with the people. He had been 
represented as a traitor to his country, a renegado 
to his faith, and as leagued with the enemies of 
both, to subdue the Moslems of Spain to the yoke 
of Christian bondage. In this way the mind of 
the public had been turned from him ; the greater 
part of the nobility had thronged round the throne 
of his father in the Alhambra ; and his mother, 
the resolute sultana Ayxa, with difficulty main- 
tained her faction in the opposite towers of the 
Alcazaba. 

Such was the melancholy picture of affairs given 
to Boabdil by the courtiers who had come forth to 
meet him. They even informed him that it would 
be an enterprise of difficulty and danger to make 
his way back to the capital, and regain the little 
court which still remained faithful to him in the 
heart of the city. The old tiger, Muley Abul 
Hassan, lay couched within the Alhambra, and the 
walls and gates of the city were strongly guarded 
by his troops. Boabdil shook his head, at these 
tidings, He called to mind the ill omen of his 



150 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

breaking his lance against the gate of Elvira, 
when issuing forth so vaingloriously with his army, 
which he now saw clearly had foreboded the de- 
struction of that army on which he had so confi- 
dently relied. " Henceforth," said he, " let no man 
have the impiety to scoff at omens." 

Boabdil approached his capital by stealth, and 
in the night, prowling about its walls like an en- 
emy seeking to destroy, rather than a monarch 
returning to his throne. At length he seized upon 
a postern-gate of the Albaycin — that part of the 
city which had always been in his favor ; he 
passed rapidly through the streets before the pop- 
ulace were aroused from their sleep, and reached 
in safety the fortress of the Alcazaba. Here he 
was received into the embraces of his intrepid 
mother, and his favorite wife Morayma. The 
transports of the latter, on the safe return of hei 
husband, were mingled with tears ; for she thought 
of her father, Ali Atar, who had fallen in his 
cause, and of her only son, who was left a hostage 
in the hand of the Christians. 

The heart of Boabdil, softened by his misfor- 
iunes, was moved by the changes in everything 
round him ; but his mother called up his spirits. 
'* This," said she, " is no time for tears and fond- 
ness. A king must think of his sceptre and his 
throne, and not yield to softness like common men. 
Thou hast done w<-ll, my son, in throwing thyself 
resolutely into Granada : it must depend upon thy- 
self whether thou remain here a king or a captive.' 

The old king, Muley Abul Hassan, had retired 
to his couch that night, in one of the strongest tow- 



BOABDIL IN GRANADA. 151 

ers of the Alhambra ; but his restless anxiety kept 
him from repose. In the first watch of the night, 
he heard a shout faintly rising from the quarter 
of the Albaycin, which is on the opposite side of 
the dark valley of the Darro. Shortly afterwards, 
horsemen came galloping up the hill that leads to 
the main gate of the Alhambra, spreading the alarm 
that Boabdil had entered the city and possessed 
himself of the Alcazaba. 

In the first transports of his rage, the old king 
would have struck the messenger to earth. He 
hastily summoned his counselors and commanders, 
exhorting them to stand by him in this critical mo- 
ment ; and, during the night, made every prepar- 
ation to enter the Albaycin sword in hand in the 
morning. 

In the mean time, the sultana Ayxa had taken 
prompt and vigorous measures to strengthen her 
party. The Albaycin was the part of the city 
filled by the lower orders The return of Boabdil 
was proclaimed throughout the streets, and large 
sums of money were distributed among the popu- 
lace. The nobles, assembled in the Alcazaba, 
were promised honors and rewards by Boabdil, as 
soon as he should be firmly seated on the throne. 
These well-timed measures had the customary ef- 
fect ; and, by daybreak, all the motley populace of 
the Albaycin were in arms. 

A doleful day succeeded. All Granada was a 
scene of tumult and horror. Drums and trumpets 
resounded in every part ; all business was inter- 
rupted ; the shops were shut, the doors barri- 
cadoed. Armed bands paraded the streets, some 



152 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

shouting for Boabdil, and some for Muley Abul 
Hassan. When they encountered each other, 
they fought furiously and without mercy; every 
public square became a scene of battle. The 
great mass of the lower orders was in favor of 
Boabdil, but it was a multitude without discipline 
or lofty spirit ; part of the people were regularly 
armed, but the greater number had sallied forth 
with the implements of their trade. The troops 
of the old king, among whom were many cava- 
liers of pride and valor, soon drove the populace 
from the squares. They fortified themselves, 
however, in the streets and lanes, which they 
barricadoed. They made fortresses of their 
houses, and fought desperately from the windows 
and the roofs, and many a warrior of the highest 
blood of Granada was laid low by plebeian hands 
and plebeian weapons in this civic brawl. 1 

It was impossible that such violent convulsions 
should last long, in the heart of a city. The 
people soon long for repose, and a return to their 
peaceful occupations ; and the cavaliers detested 
these conflicts with the multitude, in which were 
all the horrors of war without its laurels. By the 
interference of the alfaquis, an armistice was at 
length effected. Boabdil was persuaded that 
there was no dependence upon the inconstant 
favor of the multitude, and was prevailed upon to 
quit a capital where he could only maintain a 
precarious seat upon his throne by a perpetual 
and bloody struggle. He fixed his court at the 
sity of Almeria, which was entirely devoted to 
1 Conde. Doiuin de los Arabes., p. 4. c. 37 



BOABDIL DRIVEN FROM GRANADA. 153 

him, and which, at that time vied with Granada 
in splendor and importance. This compromise of 
grandeur for tranquillity, however, was sorely 
against the counsels of his proud-spirited mother, 
the sultana Ayxa, Granada appeared, in her 
eyes, the only legitimate seat of dominion ; and 
she observed, with a smile of disdain, that he was 
not worthy of being called a monarch, who was 
not master of his capital. 




CHAPTER XXII. 



Foray of the Moorish Alcaydes, and Battle of Lopera, 




HOUGH Muley Abul Hassan had re- 
gained undivided sway over the city of 
eSsM Granada, and the alfaquis, by his com- 
mand, had denounced his son Boabdil as an 
apostate, doomed by Heaven to misfortune, still 
the latter had many adherents among the com- 
mon people. Whenever, therefore, any act of the 
old monarch was displeasing to the turbulent 
multitude, they were prone to give him a hint 
of the slippery nature of his standing by shout- 
ing out the name of Boabdil el Chico. Long ex- 
perience had instructed Muley Abul Hassan in 
the character of the inconstant people over whom 
he ruled. " A successful inroad into the country 
of the unbelievers," said he, " will make more 
converts to my cause than a thousand texts of the 
Koran, expounded by ten thousand alfaquis." 

At this time king Ferdinand was absent from 
Andalusia on a distant expedition, with many of 
his troops. The moment was favorable for a 
foray, and Muley Abul Hassan cast about his 
thoughts for a leader to conduct it. Ali Atar, 
the terror of the border, the scourge of Andalusia, 
was dead ; but there was another veteran general, 
scarce inferior to him for predatory warfare. This 



MOORISH FORAY. 155 

was old Bexir, the gray and crafty alcayde of 
Malaga ; and the people under his command were 
ripe for an expedition of the kind. The signal 
defeat and slaughter of the Spanish knights in the 
neighboring mountains had filled the people of 
Malaga with vanity and self-conceit. They had 
attributed to their own valor the defeat caused by 
the nature of the country. Many of them wore 
the armor and paraded In public with the horses 
of the unfortunate cavaliers slain on that occasion, 
vauntingly displaying them as trophies of their 
boasted victory. They had talked themselves 
into a contempt for the chivalry of Andalusia, and 
were impatient for an opportunity to overrun a 
country defended by such troops. This, Muley 
Abul Hassan considered a favorable state of mind 
for a daring inroad, and sent orders to old Bexir 
to gather together the choicest warriors of the 
borders, and carry fire and sword into the very 
heart of Andalusia. Bexir immediately dis- 
patched his emissaries among the alcaydes of the 
border towns, calling upon them to assemble with 
their troops at the city of Ronda. 

Honda was the most virulent nest of Moorish 
depredators in the whole border country. It was 
situated in the midst of the wild Serrania, or chain 
of mountains of the same name, which are 
uncommonly lofty, broken, and precipitous. It 
stood on an almost isolated rock, nearly encircled 
by a deep valley, or rather chasm, through which 
ran the beautiful river called Rio Verde. The 
Moors of this city were the most active, robust, 
and warlike of all the mountaineers, and their 



156 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

very children discharged the crossbow with uner- 
ring aim. They were incessantly harassing the 
rich plains of Andalusia ; their city abounded with 
Christian captives, who might sigh in vain for 
deliverance from this impregnable fortress. Such 
was Ronda in the time of the Moors ; and it has 
ever retained something of the same character, 
even to the present day. Its inhabitants continue 
to be among the boldest, fiercest, and most adven- 
turous of the Andalusian mountaineers ; and the 
Serrania de Ronda is famous as the most danger- 
ous resort of the bandit and the contrabandista. 

Hamet Zeli, surnamed El Zegri, was the com- 
mander of this belligerent city and its fierce 
inhabitants. He was of the tribe of the Zegries, 
and one of the most proud and daring of that 
warlike race. Beside the inhabitants of Ronda 
and some of his own tribe, he had a legion of 
African Moors in his immediate service. They 
were of the tribe of the Gomeres, so called from 
their native mountains, mercenary troops, whose 
hot African blood had not yet been tempered by 
the softer living of Spain, and whose whole busi- 
ness was to fight. These he kept always well 
armed and well appointed. The rich pasturage 
of the Valley of Ronda produced a breed of horses 
famous for strength and speed ; no cavalry, there- 
fore, was better mounted than the band of 
Goraeres. Rapid on the march, fierce in the 
attack, it would sweep down upon the Andalusian 
plains like a sudden blast from the mountains, 
and pass away as suddenly, before there was time 
for pursuit. 



MOORISH FORAY. 157 



There was nothing that stirred up the spirit of 
the Moors of the frontiers more thoroughly than 
the idea of a foray. The summons of Bexir was 
gladly obeyed by the alcaydes of the border 
towns, and in a little while there was a force of 
fifteen hundred horse and four thousand foot, the 
very pith and marrow of the surrounding country, 
assembled within the walls of Ronda. The peo- 
ple of the place anticipated with eagerness the 
rich spoils of Andalusia, soon to crowd their 
gates ; throughout the day, the city resounded 
with the noise of kettle-drum and trumpet ; the 
high-mettled steeds stamped and neighed in their 
stalls, as if they shared the impatience for the 
foray ; while the Christian captives sighed, as the 
varied din of preparation reached their rocky 
dungeons, denoting a fresh expedition against 
their countrymen. 

The infidel host sallied forth full of spirits, 
anticipating an easy ravage and abundant booty. 
They encouraged each other in a contempt for 
the prowess of the foe. Many of the warriors of 
Malaga, and of some of the mountain towns, had 
insultingly arrayed themselves in the splendid 
armor of the Christian knights slain or taken 
prisoners in the famous massacre, and some of 
them rode the Andalusian steeds captured on that 
occasion. 

The wary Bexir concerted his plans so secretly 
And expeditiously, that the Christian towns of 
Andalusia had not the least suspicion of the storm 
gathering beyond the mountains. The vast and 
rocky range of the Serrania de Ronda extended 



158 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

like a screen, covering all their movements from 
observation. 

The army made its way as rapidly as the 
rugged nature of the mountains would permit, 
guided by Hamet el Zegri, the bold alcayde of 
Ronda, who knew every pass and defile : not a 
drum, nor the clash of a cymbal, nor the blast of 
a trumpet, was permitted to be heard. The 
mass of war rolled quietly on as the gathering 
cloud to the brow of the mountains, intending to 
burst down like the thunderbolt upon the plain. 

Never let the most wary commander fancy 
himself secure from discovery ; for rocks have 
eyes, and trees have ears, and the birds of the air 
have tongues, to betray the most secret enterprise. 
There chanced at this time to be six Christian 
scouts, prowling about the savage heights of the 
Serrania de Ronda. They were of that kind of 
lawless ruffians who infest the borders of bellig- 
erent countries, ready at any time to fight for 
pay, or prowl for plunder. The wild mountain 
passes of Spain have ever abounded with loose 
rambling vagabonds of the kind — soldiers in 
war, robbers in peace ; guides, guards, smugglers, 
or cut-throats, according to the circumstances of 
the case. 

These six marauders (says Fray Antonio 
Agapida) were on this occasion chosen instru- 
ments, sanctified by the righteousness of their 
cause. They were lurking among the mountains, 
to entrap Moorish cattle or Moorish prisoners, 
both of which were equally saleable in the Chris- 
tian market. They had ascended one of the 






PUERTO CARRERO. 159 

loftiest cliffs, and were looking out like birds of 
prey, ready to pounce upon anything that might 
offer in the valley, when they descried the Moorish 
army emerging from a mountain glen. They 
watched it as it wound below them, remarking 
the standards of the various towns and the 
pennons of the commanders. They hovered 
about it on its march, skulking from cliff to cliff, 
until they saw the route by which it intended to 
enter the Christian country. They then dis- 
persed, each making his way by the secret passes 
of the mountains to some different alcayde, that 
they might spread the alarm far and wide, and 
each get a separate reward. 

One hastened to Luis Fernandez Puerto Car- 
rero, the same valiant alcayde who had repulsed 
Muley Abul Hassan from the walls of Alhama, 
and who now commanded at Ecija, in the absence 
of the master of Santiago. Others roused the 
town of Utrera, and the places of that neighbor- 
hood, putting them all on the alert. 1 

Puerto Carrero was a cavalier of consummate 
vigor and activity. He immediately sent cou- 
riers to the alcaydes of the neighboring fortresses ; 
to Herman Carrello, captain of a body of the 
Holy Brotherhood, and to certain knights of the 
order of Alcantara. Puerto Carrero was the 
first to take the field. Knowing the hard and 
hungry service of these border scampers, he 
made every man take a hearty repast, and see 
that his horse was well shod and perfectly ap- 
pointed. Then all being refreshed and in valiant 

1 Pulgar, p. 3, c. 24. Cur a de los Palacios, cap. 67. 



160 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

heart, he sallied forth to seek the Moors. He 
had but a handful of men, the retainers of his 
household and troops of his captaincy ; but they 
were well armed and mounted, and accustomed 
to the rouses of the border ; men whom the cry 
of " Arm and out ! to horse and to the field ! " 
was sufficient at any time to put in a fever of 
animation. 

While the northern part of Andalusia was 
thus on the alert, one of the scouts had hastened 
southward to the city of Xeres, and given the 
alarm to the valiant marques of Cadiz. When 
the marques heard that the Moor was over the 
border, and that the standard of Malaga was in 
the advance, his heart bounded with a momentary 
joy ; for he remembered the massacre in the 
mountains, where his valiant brothers had been 
mangled before his eyes. The very authors of 
his calamity were now at hand, and he flattered 
himself that the day of vengeance had arrived. 
He made a hasty levy of his retainers and of the 
fighting men of Xeres, and hurried off with three 
hundred horse and two hundred foot, all resolute 
men and panting for revenge. 

In the mean time the veteran Bexir had ac- 
complished his march, as he imagined, undiscov- 
ered. From the openings of the craggy defiles, 
he pointed out the fertile plains of Andalusia, and 
regaled the eyes of his soldiery with the rich 
country they were about to ravage. The fierce 
Gomeres of Ronda were flushed with joy at the 
sight ; and even their steeds seemed to prick up 
their ears and snuff the breeze, as they beheld 
the scenes of their frequent forays. 



BEXIR'S FORAY. 161 

When they came to where the mountain defile 
opened into the low land, Bexir divided his force 
into three parts : one composed of foot soldiers and 
such as were weakly mounted, he left to guard 
the pass, being too experienced a veteran not to 
know the importance of securing a retreat ; a 
second body he placed in ambush, among the 
groves and thickets on the banks of the river 
Lopera ; the third, consisting of light cavalry, he 
sent forth to ravage the Campma, or great plain 
of Utrera. Most of this latter force was com- 
posed of the Gomeres of Ronda, mounted on the 
fleet steeds bred among the mountains. It was 
led by Hamet el Zegri, ever eager to be foremost 
in the forage. Little suspecting that the country 
on both sides was on the alarm, and rushing from 
all directions to close upon them in the rear, this 
fiery troop dashed forward until they came within 
two leagues of Utrera. Here they scattered 
themselves about the plain, careering round the 
great herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and 
sweeping them into droves, to be hurried to the 
mountains. 

While thus dispersed, a troop of horse and body 
of foot from Utrera came suddenly upon them. 
The Moors rallied together in small parties, and 
endeavored to defend themselves ; but they were 
without a leader, for Hamet el Zegri was at a 
distance, having, like a hawk, made a wide circuit 
in pursuit of prey. The marauders soon gave 
way and fled towards the ambush on the banks 
of the Lopera, being hotly pursued by the men 
of X^rera. 

11 



162 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Wheti they reached the Lopera, the Moors in 
ambush rushed forth with furious cries ; and the 
fugitives, recovering courage from this. reinforce- 
ment, rallied and turned upon their pursuers. 
The Christians stood their ground, though greatly 
inferior in number. Their lances were soon 
broken, and they came to sharp work with sword 
and scimetar. The Christians fought valiantly, 
but were in danger of being overwhelmed. The 
bold Hamet collected a handful of his scattered 
Gomeres, left his prey, and galloped towards the 
scene of action. His little troop of horsemen 
had reached the crest of a rising ground at no 
great distance, when trumpets were heard in 
another direction, and Luis Fernandez Puerto 
Carrero and his followers came galloping into the 
field, and charged upon the infidels in flank. 

The Moors were astounded at finding war 
thus breaking upon them from various quarters 
of what they had expected to find an unguarded 
country. They fought for a short time with des- 
peration, and resisted a vehement assault from 
the knights of Alcantara, and the men-at-arms of 
the Holy Brotherhood. At length the veteran 
Bexir was struck from his horse by Puerto Car- 
rero, and taken prisoner, and the whole force gave 
way and fled. In their flight, they separated, and 
took two roads to the mountains, thinking, by di- 
viding their forces, to distract the enemy. The 
Christians were too few to separate. Puerto Car- 
rero kept them together, pursuing one division of 
the enemy with great slaughter. This battle 
took place at the fountain of the fig-tree, near to 






CAREER 0'8 VICTORY. 163 

the Lopera. Six hundred Moorish cavaliers were 
slain, and many taken prisoners. Much spoil 
was collected on the field, with which the Chris- 
tians returned in triumph to their homes. 

The larger body of the enemy had retreated 
along a road leading more to the south, by the 
banks of the Guadalete. When they reached 
that river the sound of pursuit had died away, 
and they rallied to breathe and refresh themselves 
on the margin of the stream. Their force was 
reduced to about a thousand horse, and a confused 
multitude of foot. While they were scattered 
and partly dismounted on the banks of the Gua- 
dalete, a fresh storm of war burst upon them 
from an opposite direction. It was the marques 
of Cadiz, leading on his household troops and the 
fighting men of Xeres. When the Christian war- 
riors came in sight of the Moors, they were 
roused to fury at beholding many of them arrayed 
in the armor of the cavaliers who had been slain 
among the mountains of Malaga. Nay, some 
who had been in that defeat beheld their own 
armor, which they had cast away in their flight, 
to enable themselves to climb the mountains. 
Exasperated at the sight, they rushed upon the 
foe with the ferocity of tigers, rather than the 
temperate courage of cavaliers. Each man felt 
as if he were avenging the death of a relative, or 
wiping out his own disgrace. The good marques, 
himself, beheld a powerful Moor bestriding the 
horse of his brother Beltran : giving a cry of 
rage and anguish at the sight, he rushed through 
the thickest of the enemy, attacked the Moor 



164 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

with resistless fury, and after a short combat, 
hurled him breathless to the earth. 

The Moors, already vanquished in spirit, could 
not withstand the assault of men thus madly ex- 
cited. They soon gave way, and fled for the de- 
file of the Serrania de Ronda, where the body of 
troops had been stationed to secure a retreat. 
These, seeing them come galloping wildly up the 
defile, with Christian banners in pursuit, and the 
flash of weapons at their deadly work, thought all 
Andalusia was upon them, and fled without await- 
ing an attack. The pursuit continued among 
glens and defiles ; for the Christian warriors, 
eager for revenge, had no compassion on the foe. 

When the pursuit was over, the marques of 
Cadiz and his followers reposed themselves upon 
the banks of the Guadalete, where they divided 
the spoil. Among this were found many rich 
corselets, helmets, and weapons — the Moorish 
trophies of the defeat in the mountains of Mal- 
aga. Several were claimed by their owners ; 
others were known to have belonged to noble 
cavaliers, who had been slain or taken prisoners. 
There were several horses, also, richly capari- 
soned, which had pranced proudly with the un- 
fortunate warriors, as they sallied out of Anti- 
quera upon that fatal expedition. Thus the 
exultation of the victors was dashed with melan- 
choly, and many a knight was seen lamenting 
over the helmet or corselet of some loved com- 
panion in arms. 

The good marques of Cadiz was resting under 
a tree on the banks of the Guadalete, when the 






EXULTATION MIXED WITH SORROW. 1G5 

horse which had belonged to his slaughtered 
brother Beltran was brought to him. He laid 
his hand upon the mane, and looked wistfully at 
the empty saddle. His bosom heaved with vio- 
lent agitation, and his lip quivered and was pale. 
" Ay de mi ! hermano ! " (woe is me ! my brother !) 
was all that he said ; for the grief of a warrior 
has not many words. He looked round on the 
field strewn with the bodies of the enemy, and 
in the bitterness of his woe felt consoled by the 
idea that his brother had not been unrevenged. 

Note. — "En el despojo de la Batalla se vieron muchas 
ricas corazas e capacetes, e barberas de las que se habian 
perdido en el Axarquia, e otras muchas armas, e algunes 
fueron conocidas de sus duenos que las habian dejado por 
fuir, e otras fueron conocidas, que eran mui senaladas de 
hombres principals que habian quedado muertos e cautivos, 
i fueron tornados muchos de los mismos Caballos con sus 
ricas sillas, de los que quedaron en la Axarquia, e fueron cou- 
ocidos cuios eran." — Cur a de, los Palacios, cap. 67. 




CHAPTER XXIII. 

Retreat of Hamet el Zegri, Alcayde of Ronda. 



HE bold alcayde of Ronda, Hamet el Ze- 
gri, had careered wide over the Cam- 
lESgSSiilli pina of Utrera, encompassing the flocks 
and herds, when he heard the burst of war at a 
distance. There were with him but a handful 
of his Gomeres. He saw the scamper and pur- 
suit afar off, and beheld the Christian horsemen 
spurring madly towards the ambuscade on the 
banks of the Lopera. Hamet tossed his hand 
triumphantly aloft, for his men to follow him. 
" The Christian dogs are ours ! " said he, as he 
put spurs to his horse, to take the enemy in rear. 

The little band which followed Hamet scarcely 
amounted to thirty horsemen. They spurred 
across the plain, and reached a rising ground, 
just as the force of Puerto Carre ro had charged, 
with sound of trumpet, upon the flank of the 
party in ambush. Hamet beheld the headlong 
rout of the army with rage and consternation. 
He found the country was pouring forth its le- 
gions from every quarter, and perceived that there 
was no safety but in precipitate flight. 

But which way to fly ? An army was be- 
tween him and the mountain pass ; all the forces 



RETREAT OF HAMET EL ZEGR1. 167 

of the neighborhood were rushing to the borders ; 
the whole route by which he had come was by 
this time occupied by the foe. He checked his 
steed, rose in the stirrups, and rolled a stern and 
thoughtful eye over the country ; then sinking 
into his saddle, he seemed to commune a moment 
with himself. Turning quickly to his troop, he 
singled out a renegado Christian, a traitor to his 
religion and his king. " Come hither," said 
Hamet. " Thou knowest all the secret passes 
of the country/' " I do," replied the renegado. 
*' Dost thou know any circuitous route, solitary 
and untravelled, by which we can pass wide 
within these troops, and reach the Serrania?" 
The renegado paused : " Such a route I know, 
but it is full of peril, for it leads through the 
heart of the Christian land." " 'Tis well," said 
Hamet ; " the more dangerous in appearance, the 
less it will be suspected. Now hearken to me. 
Ride by my side. Thou seest this purse of gold 
and this scimetar. Take us, by the route thou 
hast mentioned, safe to the pass of the Serrania, 
and this purse shall be thy reward ; betray us, 
and this scimetar shall cleave thee to the saddle- 
bow." l 

The renegado obeyed, trembling. They turned 
off from the direct road to the mountains, and 
struck southward toward Lebrixa, passing by the 
most solitary roads, and along those deep ramblas 
and ravines by which the country is intersected. 
It was indeed a daring course. Every now and 
then they heard the distant sound of trumpets, 
1 Cur a de hs PcUacios, ubi sup. 



168 CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 

and the alarm-bells of towns and villages, and 
found that the war was still hurrying to the bor- 
ders. They hid themselves in thickets and in 
dry beds of rivers, until the danger had passed 
by, and then resumed their course. Hamet el 
Zegri rode on in silence, his hand upon his scim- 
etar and his eye upon the renegado guide, pre- 
pared to sacrifice him on the least sign of trea- 
chery ; while his band followed, gnawing their 
lips with rage, at having thus to skulk through a 
country they had come to ravage. 

When night fell, they struck into more practi- 
cable roads, always keeping wide of the villages 
and hamlets, lest the watch-dogs should betray 
them. In this way they passed in deep midnight 
by Arcos, crossed the Guadalete, and effected 
their retreat to the mountains. The day dawned 
as they made their way up the savage defiles. 
Their comrades had been hunted up these very 
glens by the enemy. Every now and then they 
came to w^here there had been a partial fight, or 
a slaughter of. the fugitives ; and the rocks were 
red with blood, and strewed with mangled bodies. 
The alcayde of Ronda was almost frantic with 
rage, at seeing many of his bravest warriors 
lying stiff and stark, a prey to the hawks and 
vultures of the mountains. Now and then some 
wretched Moor would crawl out of a cave or 
glen, whither he had fled for refuge ; for in the 
retreat many of the horsemen had abandoned 
their steeds, thrown away their armor, and clam- 
bered up the cliffs, where they could not be pur- 
sued by the Christian cavalry. 



MOORISH LAMENTATIONS 169 

The Moorish army had sallied forth from 
Ronda, amidst shouts and acclamations ; but wait- 
ings were heard within its walls as the alcayde 
and his broken band returned without banner or 
trumpet, and haggard with famine and fatigue. 
The tidings of their disaster had preceded them, 
borne by the fugitives of the army. No one 
ventured to speak to the stern Hamet, as he en- 
tered the city; for they saw a dark cloud upon 
his brow. 

It seemed (says the pious Antonio Agapida) 
as if Heaven meted out this defeat in exact 
retribution for the ills inflicted upuii the Chris- 
tian warriors in the heights of Malaga. It was 
equally signal and disastrous. Of the brilliant 
array of Moorish chivalry, which had descended 
so confidently into Andalusia, riot more than two 
hundred escaped. The choicest troops of the 
frontier were either taken or destroyed ; the 
Moorish garrisons enfeebled ; and many alcaydes 
and cavaliers of noble lineage carried into cap- 
tivity, who were afterwards obliged to redeem 
themselves w T ith heavy ransoms. 

This was called the battle of Lopera, and was 
fought on the 17th of September, 1483. Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella were at Vittoria, in Old Cas- 
tile, when they received news of the victory, and 
the standards taken from the enemy. They cele- 
brated the event with processions, illuminations, 
and other festivities. Ferdinand sent to the 
marques of Cadiz the royal raiment which he 
had worn on that day, and conferred on him, and 
all those who should inherit his title, the privi- 



170 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

lege of wearing royal robes on our Lady's day, 
in September, in commemoration of this victory. 1 
Queen Isabella was equally mindful of the 
great services of Don Luis Fernandez Puerto 
Carrero. Besides many encomiums and favors, 
she sent to his wife the royal vestments and robe 
of brocade which she had worn on the same day, 
to be worn by her, during her life, on the anni- 
versary of that battle. 1 

1 Mariana, Abarca, Zurita, Pulgar, etc. 





CHAPTER XXIV. 

Of the Reception at Court of the Count de Cabra and the Al- 
calde de los Donceles. 




N the midst of the bustle of warlike 
affairs, the worthy chronicler Fray An- 
tonio Agapida pauses to note, with curi- 
ous accuracy, the distinguished reception given to 
the count de Cabra and his nephew, the alcayde 
de los Donceles, at the stately and ceremonious 
court of the Castilian sovereigns, in reward for 
the capture of the Moorish king Boabdil. The 
court (he observes) was held at the time in the 
ancient Moorish palace of the city of Cordova, 
and the ceremonials were arranged by that vener- 
able prelate, Don Pedro Gonzales de Mendoza, 
bishop of Toledo and grand cardinal of Spain. 

It was on Wednesday, the 14th of October 
(continues the precise Antonio Agapida), that the 
good count de Cabra, according to arrangement, 
appeared at the gate of Cordova. Here he was 
met by the grand cardinal, and the duke of Vil- 
lahermosa, illegitimate brother of the king, to- 
gether with many of the first grandees and pre- 
lates of the kingdom. By this august train was 
he attended to the palace, amidst strains of martial 
music, and the shouts of a prodigious multitude. 
When the count arrived in the presence of the 



172 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

sovereigns, who were seated in state on a dais or 
raised part of the hall of audience, they both 
arose. The king advanced exactly five steps to- 
ward the count, who knelt and kissed his royal 
hand ; however, the king would not receive him 
as a mere vassal, but embraced him with affection- 
ate cordiality. The queen also advanced two 
steps, and received the count with a countenance 
full of sweetness and benignity : after he had 
kissed her hand, the king and queen returned to 
their thrones, and, cushions being brought, they 
ordered the count de Cabra to be seated in their 
presence. This last circumstance is written iu 
large letters, and followed by several notes of 
admiration, in the manuscript of the worthy Fray 
Antonio Agapida, who considers the extraordinary 
privilege of sitting in presence of the Catholic 
sovereigns an honor well worth fighting for. 

The good count took his seat at a short distance 
from the king, and near him was seated the duke 
of Najera, then the bishop of Palencia, then the 
count of Aguilar, the count Luna, and Don Gu- 
tierre de Cardenas, senior commander of Leon. 

On the side of the queen were seated the 
grand cardinal of Spain, the duke of Villahermosa, 
the count of Monte Rey, and the bishops of Jaen 
and Cuenca, each in the order in which they are 
named. The infanta Isabella was prevented, by 
indisposition, from attending the ceremony. 

And now festive music resounded through the 
hall, and twenty ladies of the queen's retinue 
entered, magnificently attired ; upon which twenty 
youthful cavaliers, very gay and galliard in their 



HONORS TO THE VICTORS. 173 

array, stepped forth, and, each seeking his fair 
partner, they commenced a stately dance. The 
court, in the mean time (observes Fray Antonio 
Agapida), looked on with lofty and becoming grav- 
ity. 

When the dance was concluded, the king and 
queen rose to retire to supper, and dismissed the 
count with many gracious expressions. He was 
then attended by all the grandees present to the 
palace of the grand cardinal, where they partook 
of a sumptuous banquet. 

On the following Saturday, the alcayde de los 
Donceles was received, likewise, with great hon- 
ors ; but the ceremonies were so arranged, as to 
be a degree less in dignity, than those shown to 
his uncle ; the latter being considered the principal 
actor in this great achievement. Thus the grand 
cardinal and the duke of Villahermosa did not 
meet him at the gate of the city, but received 
him in the palace, and entertained him in con- 
versation until summoned to the sovereigns. 

When the alcayde de los Donceles entered the 
presence chamber, the king and queen rose from 
their chairs, but without advancing. They greeted 
him graciously, and commanded him to be seated 
next to the count de Cabra. 

The infanta Isabella came forth to this re- 
ception, and took her seat beside the queen. 
When the court were all seated, the music again 
sounded through the hall, and the twenty ladies 
came forth as on the preceding occasion, richly 
attired, but in different raiment. They danced 
as before ; and the infanta Isabella, taking a 



174 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

young Portuguese damsel for a partner, joined in 
the dance. When this was concluded, the king 
and queen dismissed the alcayde de los Donceles 
with great courtesy, and the court broke up. 

The worthy Fray Antonio Agapida here in- 
dulges in a long eulogy on the scrupulous dis- 
crimination of the Castilian court, in the dis- 
tribution of its honors and rewards, by which 
means every smile, and gesture, and word of the 
sovereigns, had its certain value, and conveyed 
its equivalent of joy to the heart of the subject ; — 
a matter well worthy the study (says he) of all 
monarchs, who are too apt to distribute honors 
with a heedless caprice that renders them of no 
avail. 

On the following Sunday both the count de 
Cabra and the alcayde de los Donceles were in- 
vited to sup with the sovereigns. The court that 
evening was attended by the highest nobility, ar- 
rayed with that cost and splendor for which the 
Spanish nobility of those days were renowned. 

Before supper, there was a stately and cere- 
monious dance, befitting the dignity of so august a 
court. The king led forth the queen, in grave 
and graceful measure ; the count de Cabra was 
honored with the hand of the infanta Isabella ; 
and the alcayde de los Donceles danced with a 
daughter of the marques de Astorga. 

The dance being concluded, the royal party re- 
paired to the supper-table, which was placed on 
an elevated part of the saloon. Here, in full 
view of the court, the count de Cabra and the 
alcayde de los Donceles supped at the same 



MEMORIALS OF THE VICTORY. 175 

table with the king, the queen, and the infanta. 
The royal family were served by the marques of 
Villena. The cupbearer to the king was his 
nephew, Fadrigue de Toledo, son to the duke of 
Alva. Don Alexis de Estaniga had the honor 
of fulfilling that office for the queen, and Tello 
de Aguilar for the infanta. Other cavaliers of 
rank and distinction waited on the count and the 
alcayde de los Donceles. At one o'clock, the two 
distinguished guests were dismissed with many 
courteous expressions by the sovereigns. 

Such (says Fray Antonio Agapida) were the 
great honors paid at our most exalted and cere- 
monious court to these renowned cavaliers ; but 
the gratitude of the sovereigns did not end here. 
A few days afterwards, they bestowed upon them 
large revenues for life, and others to descend to 
their heirs, with the privilege for them and their 
descendants to prefix the title of Don to their 
names. They gave them, moreover, as armorial 
bearings, a Moor's head crowned, with a golden 
chain round the neck, in a sanguine field, and 
twenty-two banners round the margin of the es- 
cutcheon. Their descendants, of the houses of 
Cabra and Cordova, continue to bear these arms 
at the present day, in memorial of the victory of 
Lucena and the capture of Boabdil el Chico. 1 

1 The account given by Fray Antonio Agapida of this 
ceremonial, so characteristic of the old Spanish court, agrees 
in almost every particular with an ancient manuscript, made 
ap from the chronicles of the Curate of los Palacios and other 
old Spanish writers. 




CHAPTER XXV. 

How the Marques of Cadiz concerted to surprise Zahara, and 
the Result of his Enterprise. 




HE valiant Roderigo Ponce de Leon, mar- 
ques of Cadiz, was one of the most vigi- 
lant of commanders. He kept in his pay 
a number of converted Moors, to serve as adalides, 
or armed guides. These mongrel Christians were 
of great service in procuring information. Avail- 
ing themselves of their Moorish character and 
tongue, they penetrated into the enemy's country, 
prowled about the castles and fortresses, noticed 
the state of the walls, the gates and towers, the 
strength of their garrison, and the vigilance or 
negligence of their commanders. All this they 
reported minutely to the marques, who thus knew 
the state of every fortress upon the frontier, and 
when it might be attacked with advantage. Be- 
sides the various towns and cities over which he 
held feudal sway, he had always an armed force 
about him, ready for the field. A host of retain- 
ers fed in his hall, who were ready to follow him to 
danger and death itself, without inquiring who or 
why they fought. The armories of his castles 
were supplied with helms and cuirasses, and weap- 
ons of all kinds, ready burnished for use ; and his 



PROJECT FOR SURPRISING ZAHARA 177 

stables were filled with hardy steeds, that could 
stand a mountain scamper. 

The marques was aware that the late defeat of 
the Moors on the banks of the Lopera had weak- 
ened their whole frontier ; for many of the castles 
and fortresses had lost their alcaydes, and their 
choicest troops. He sent out his war-hounds, 
therefore, upon the range, to ascertain where a 
successful blow might be struck ; and they soon 
returned, with word that Zahara was weakly gar- 
risoned and short of provisions. 

This was the very fortress, which, about two 
years before, had been stormed by Muley Abul 
Hassan ; and its capture had been the first blow 
of this eventful war. It had ever since remained 
a thorn in the side of Andalusia. All the Chris- 
tians had been carried away captive, and no civil 
population had been introduced in their stead. 
There were no women or children in the place. 
It was kept up as a mere military post, command- 
ing one of the most important passes of the moun- 
tains, and was a stronghold of Moorish marauders. 
The marques was animated by the idea of regain- 
ing this fortress for his sovereigns and wresting 
from the old Moorish king this boasted trophy of 
his prow r ess. He sent missives, therefore, to the 
brave Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero, who had 
distinguished himself in the late victory, and to 
Juan Almaraz, captain of the men-at-arms of the 
Holy Brotherhood, informing them of his designs, 
and inviting them to meet him with their forces 
on the banks of the Gaudalete. 

It was on the day (says Fray Antonio Agapida) 
12 



178 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

of the glorious apostles St. Simon and Judas, the 
twenty-eighth of October, in the year of grace one 
thousand four hundred and eighty- three, that this 
chosen band of Christian soldiers assembled sud- 
denly and secretly at the appointed place. Their 
forces, when united, amounted to six hundred horse 
aud fifteen hundred foot. Their gathering place 
was at the entrance of the defile leading to Zahara. 
That ancient town, renowned in Moorish warfare, 
is situated in one of the roughest passes of the 
Serrania de Ronda. It is built round the craggy 
cone of a hill, on the lofty summit of which is a 
strong castle. The country around is broken 
into deep barrancas ' or ravines, some of which 
approach its very walls. The place had until re- 
cently been considered impregnable ; but (as the 
worthy Fray Antonio Agapida observes) the 
walls of impregnable fortresses, like the virtue of 
self-confident saints, have their weak points of 
attack. 

The marques of Cadiz advanced with his little 
army in the dead of the night, marching silently 
into the deep and dark defiles of the mountains, 
and stealing up the ravines which extended to the 
walls of the town. Their approach was so noise- 
less that the Moorish sentinels upon the walls 
heard not a voice or a footfall. The marques was 
accompanied by his old escalador, Ortega de Prado, 
who had distinguished himself at the scaling of 
Alhama. This hardy veteran was stationed, with 
ten raeu, furnished with scaling-ladders, in a cav- 
ity among the rocks, close to the walls. At a 
little distance, seventy men were hid in a ravine, 



CAPTURE OF ZAFJARA. 179 

to be at hand to second him, when he should 
have fixed his ladders. The rest of the troops 
were concealed in another ravine, commanding a 
fair approach to the gate of the fortress. A 
shrewd and wary adalid, well acquainted with 
the place, was appointed to give signals, and so 
stationed, that he could be seen by the various 
parties in ambush, but not by the garrison. 

The remainder of the night passed away in pro- 
found quiet. The Moorish sentinels could be 
heard tranquilly patrolling the walls, in perfect 
security. The day dawned, and the rising sun 
began to shine against the lofty peaks of the Ser- 
rania de Ronda. The sentinels looked from their 
battlements over a savage but quiet mountain 
country, where not a human being was stirring; 
they little dreamt of the mischief lurking in every 
ravine and chasm of the rocks around them. Ap- 
prehending no danger of surprise in broad day, 
the greater part of the soldiers abandoned the 
walls and towers, and descended into the city. 

By orders of the marques, a small body of 
light cavalry passed along the glen, and, turning 
round a point of rock, showed themselves before 
the town : they skirred the fields almost to the 
gates, as if by way of bravado, and to defy the 
garrison to a skirmish. The Moors were not 
slow in replying to it. About seventy horse, 
and a number of foot who had guarded the walls, 
rallied forth impetuously, thinking to make easy 
prey of these insolent marauders. The Christian 
horsemen fled for the ravine, the Moors pursued 
them down the hill, until they heard a great 



180 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

shouting and tumult behind them. Looking 
round towards the town, they beheld a scaling 
party mounting the walls sword in hand. Wheel- 
ing about, they galloped for the gate ; the mar- 
ques of Cadiz and Luis Fernandez Puerto Car- 
rero rushed forth at the same time with their 
ambuscade, and endeavored to cut them off; but 
the Moors succeeded in throwing themselves 
within the walls. 

While Puerto Carrero stormed at the gate, the 
marques put spurs to his horse and galloped to 
the support of Ortega de Prado and his scaling 
party. He arrived at a moment of imminent 
peril, when the party was assailed by fifty Moors, 
armed with cuirasses and lances, who were on 
the point of thrusting them from the walls. The 
marques sprang from his horse, mounted a ladder, 
sword in hand, followed by a number of his 
troops, and made a vigorous attack upon the 
enemy. 1 They were soon driven from the walls, 
and the gates and towers remained in possession 
of the Christians. The Moors defended them- 
selves for a short time in the streets, but at length 
took refuge in the castle, the walls of which were 
strong, and capable of holding out until relief 
should arrive. The marques had no desire to 
carry on a siege, and he had not provisions suffi- 
cient for many prisoners ; he granted them, there- 
fore, favorable terms. They were permitted, on 
leaving their arms behind them, to march out 
with as much of their effects as they could carry ; 
and it was stipulated that they should pass over 
J Cura de los Palacios^ c. 68. 



HONORS OF THE MARQUES. 181 

to Barbary. The marques remained in the place 
until both town and castle were put in a perfect 
state of defense, and strongly garrisoned. 

Thus did Zahara return once more in posses- 
sion of the Christians, to the great confusion of 
old Muley Abul Hassan, who, having paid the 
penalty of his ill-timed violence, was now de- 
prived of its vaunted fruits. The Castilian Sov- 
ereigns were so gratified by this achievement of 
the valiant Ponce de Leon, that they authorized 
him thenceforth to entitle himself duke of Cadiz 
and marques of Zahara. The warrior, however, 
was so proud of the original title, under which 
he had si often signalized himself, that he gave 
it the precedence, and always signed himself mar- 
ques, duke of Cadiz. As the reader may have 
acquired the same predilection, we shall continue 
to call him by his ancient title. 






CHAPTER XXVI. 

Of the Fortress of Alhama, and how wisely it was governed 
by the Count de Tendilla. 




N this part of his chronicle, the worthy 
father Fray Antonio Agapida indulges 
in triumphant exultation over the down- 
fall of Zahara : Heaven sometimes speaks (says 
he) through the mouths of false prophets, for the 
confusion of the wicked. By the fall of this 
fortress was the prediction of the santon of Gra- 
nada in some measure fulfilled, that u the ruins 
of Zahara should fall upon the heads of the in- 
fidels." 

Our zealous chronicler scoffs at the Moorish 
alcayde, who lost his fortress by surprise in broad 
daylight ; and contrasts the vigilance of the Chris- 
tian governor of Alhama, the town taken in re- 
taliation for the storming of Zahara. 

The important post of Alhama was at this 
time confided by King Ferdinand to Don Inigo 
Lopez de Mendoza, count of Tendilla, a cavalier 
of noble blood, brother to the grand cardinal of 
Spain. He had been instructed by the king, not 
merely to maintain his post, but also to make 
sallies and lay waste the surrounding country. 
His fortress was critically situated. It was 



STATE OF ALHAMA. 183 

within seven leagues of Granada, and at no great 
distance from the warlike city of Loxa. It was 
nestled in the lap of the mountains, commanding 
the high-road to Malaga and a view over the ex- 
tensive vega. Thus situated, in the heart of the 
enemy's country, surrounded by foes ready to 
assail him, and a rich country for him to ravage, 
it behooved this cavalier to be forever on the 
alert. He was in fact an experienced veteran, a 
shrewd and wary officer, and a commander amaz- 
ingly prompt and fertile in expedients. 

On assuming the command, he found that the 
garrison consisted but of one thousand men, horse 
and foot. They were hardy troops, seasoned in 
rough mountain campaigning, but reckless and 
dissolute, as soldiers are apt to be when accus- 
tomed to predatory warfare. They would fight 
hard for booty, and then gamble it heedlessly 
away, or squander it in licentious reveling. Al- 
hama abounded with hawking, sharping, idle hang- 
ers-on, eager to profit by the vices and follies of 
the garrison. The soldiers were oftener gam- 
bling and dancing beneath the walls, than keeping 
watch upon the battlements; and nothing was 
heard, from morning till night, but the noisy con- 
test of cards and dice, mingled with the sound of 
the bolero or fandango, the drowsy strumming of 
the guitar, and the rattling of the castanets ; 
while often the whole was interrupted b^the loud 
brawl, and fierce and bloody contest. 

The count of Tendilla set himself vigorously 
to reform these excesses ; he knew that laxity of 
morals is generally attended by neglect of duty 



184 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and that the least breach of discipline in the ex- 
posed situation of his fortress might be fatal. 
" Here is but a handful of men," said he ; " it is 
necessary that each man should be a hero." 

He endeavored to awaken a proper ambition 
in the minds of his soldiers, and to instill into 
them the high principles of chivalry. "A just 
war," he observed, " is often rendered wicked and 
disastrous by J^he manner in which it is con- 
ducted ; for the righteousness of the cause is not 
sufficient to sanction the profligacy of the means, 
and the want of order and subordination among 
the troops may bring ruin and disgrace upon the 
best concerted plans." But we cannot describe 
the character and conduct of this renowned com- 
mander in more forcible language than that of 
Fray Antonio Agapida, excepting that the pious 
father places in the foreground of his virtues his 
hatred of the Moors. u The count de Ten- 
dilla," says he, " was a mirror of Christian knight- 
hood — watchful, abstemious, chaste, devout, and 
thoroughly filled with the spirit of the cause. 
He labored incessantly and strenuously for the 
glory of the faith, and the prosperity of their 
most Catholic majesties ; and, above all, he hated 
the infidels with a pure and holy hatred. This 
worthy cavalier discountenanced all idleness, riot- 
ing, chambering, and wantonness, among his sol- 
diery. Trie kept them constantly to the exercise 
of arms, making them adroit in the use of their 
weapons and management of their steeds, and 
prompt for the field at a moment's notice- He 
permitted no sound of lute or harp, or song, or 



THE COUNT OF TENDILLA 185 

other loose minstrelsy, to be heard in his fortress, 
debauching the ear and softening the valor of the 
soldier ; no other music was allowed but the 
wholesome rolling of the drum and braying of 
the trumpet, and such like spirit-stirring instru- 
ments, as fill the mind with thoughts of iron-war. 
All wandering minstrels, sharping pedlars, sturdy 
trulls, and other camp trumpery, were ordered to 
pack up their baggage, and were drummed out of 
the gates of Alhama. In place of such lewd 
rabble, he introduced a train of holy friars to in- 
spirit his people by exhortation, and prayer, and 
choral chanting, and to spur them on to fight the 
good fight of faith. All games of chance were 
prohibited, except the game of war ; and this he 
labored, by vigilance and vigor, to reduce to a 
game of certainty. Heaven smiled upon the 
efforts of this righteous cavalier. His men be- 
came soldiers at all points, and terrors to the 
Moors. The good count never set forth on a rav- 
age, without observing the rites of confession, 
absolution, and communion, and obliging his fol- 
lowers to do the same. Their banners were 
blessed by the holy friars whom he maintained 
in Alhama ; and in this way success was secured 
to his arms, and he was enabled to lay waste the 
land of the heathen." 

" The fortress of Alhama " continues Fray An- 
tonio Agapida " overlooked from its lofty site a 
great part of the fertile vega, watered by the 
Cazin and the Xenil ; from this he made frequent 
sallies, sweeping away the flocks and herds from 
the pasture, the laborer from the field, and the 



186 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

convoy from the road ; so that it was said by the 
Moors, that a beetle could not crawl across the 
vega without being seen by count Tendilla. The 
peasantry, therefore, were fain to betake them- 
selves to watch-towers and fortified hamlets, 
where they shut up their cattle, garnered their 
corn, and sheltered their wives and children. 
Even there they were not safe ; the count would 
storm these rustic fortresses with fire and sword ; 
make captives of their inhabitants ; carry off the 
corn, the oil, the silks, and cattle ; and leave the 
ruins blazing and smoking, within the very sight 
of Granada." 

"It was a pleasing and refreshing sight," con- 
tinues the good father, " to behold this pious 
knight and his followers returning from one of 
these crusades, leaving the rich land of the infidel 
in smoking desolation behind them ; to behold the 
long line of mules and asses, laden with the 
plunder of the Gentiles — the hosts of captive 
Moors, men, women, and children — droves of 
sturdy beeves, lowing kine, and bleating sheep ; 
all winding up the steep acclivity to the gates of 
Alhama, pricked on by the Catholic soldiery. 
His garrison thus thrived on the fat of the land 
and the spoil of the infidel ; nor was he unmindful 
of the pious fathers, whose blessings crowned his 
enterprises with success. A large portion of the 
spoil was always dedicated to the church ; and the 
good friars were ever ready at the gate to hail 
him on his return, and receive the share allotted 
them. Beside these allotments, he made many 
votive offerings, either in time of peril or on the 



DEFENSE OF ALHAMA. 187 

eve of a foray ; and the chapels of Alhama were 
resplendent with chalices, crosses, and other pre- 
cious gifts made by this Catholic cavalier." 

Thus eloquently does the venerable Fray 
Antonio Agapida dilate in praise of the good 
count de Tendilla ; and other historians of equal 
veracity, but less unction, agree in pronouncing 
him one of the ablest of Spanish generals. So 
terrible in fact did he become in the land, that 
the Moorish peasantry could not venture a league 
from Granada or Loxa to labor in the fields, 
without peril of being carried into captivity. The 
people of Granada clamored against Muley Abul 
Hassan, for suffering his lands to be thus outraged 
and insulted, and demanded to have this bold 
marauder shut up in his fortress. The old 
monarch was roused by their remonstrances. He 
sent forth powerful troops of horse, to protect 
the country, during the season that the husband- 
men were abroad in the fields. These troops 
patrolled in formidable squadrons in the neighbor- 
hood of Alhama, keeping strict watch upon its 
gates ; so that it was impossible for the Christians 
to make a sally, without being seen and in- 
tercepted. 

While Alhama was thus blockaded by a roving 
force of Moorish cavalry, the inhabitants were 
awakened one night by a tremendous crash, that 
shook the fortress to its foundations. The garri- 
son flew to arms, supposing it some assault of the 
enemy. The alarm proved to have been caused 
by the rupture of a portion of the wall, which, 
undermined by heavy rains, had suddenly given 



188 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

way, leaving a large chasm yawning towards the 
plain. 

The count de Tendilla was for a time in great 
anxiety. Should this breach be discovered by 
the blockading horsemen, they would arouse the 
country, Granada and Loxa would pour out an 
overwhelming force, and they would find his 
walls ready sapped for an assault. In this fearful 
emergency, the count displayed his noted talent 
for expedients. He ordered a quantity of linen 
cloth to be stretched in front of the breach, painted 
in imitation of stone, and indented with battle- 
ments, so as at a distance to resemble the other 
parts of the walls : behind this screen he employed 
workmen, day and night, in repairing the fracture. 
No one was permitted to leave the fortress, lest 
information of its defenseless plight should be 
carried to the Moor. Light squadrons of the 
enemy were seen hovering about the plain, but 
never approached near enough to discover the de- 
ception ; and thus, in the course pf a few days, 
the wall was rebuilt stronger than before. 

There was another expedient of this shrewd 
veteran, which greatly excites the marvel of 
Agapida. u It happened," he observes, " that 
this Catholic cavalier at one time was destitute of 
gold and silver, wherewith to pay the wages of 
his troops ; and the soldiers murmured greatly, 
seeing that they had not the means of purchasing 
necessaries from the people of the town. In 
this dilemma, what does this most sagacious com- 
mander ? He takes me a number of little 
morsels of paper, on the which he inscribes 



ADROIT DEVICE — PAPER MONEY. \ 8$ 

various sums, large and small, according to the 
nature of the case, and signs me them with his 
own hand and name. These did he give to the 
soldiery, in earnest of their pay. ' How ! ' you 
will say, ' are soldiers to be paid with scraps of 
paper ? ' Even so, I answer, and well paid too, 
as I will presently make manifest : for the good 
count issued a proclamation, ordering the inhabi- 
tants of Alhama to take these morsels of paper 
for the full amount thereon inscribed, promising 
to redeem them at a future time with silver and 
gold, and threatening severe punishment to all 
who should refuse. The people, having full con- 
fidence in his word, and trusting that he would 
be as willing to perform the one promise as he 
certainly was able to perform the other, took 
those curious morsels of paper without hesitation 
or demur. Thus, by a subtle and most miracu- 
lous kind of alchemy, did this Catholic cavalier 
turn worthless paper into precious gold, and 
make his late impoverished garrison abound in 
money ! " 

It is but just to add, that the count de Tendilla 
redeemed his promises, like a toyal knight ; and 
this miracle as it appeared in the eyes of Fray 
Antonio Agapida, is the first instance on record 
of paper money, which has since inundated the 
civilized world with unbounded opulence. 




CHAPTER XXVII. 

Foray of Christian Knights into the Territory of the Moors. 

HE Spanish cavaliers who had survived 
the memorable massacre among the 
mountains of Malaga, although they 
had repeatedly avenged the death of their com- 
panions, could not forget the horror and humilia- 
tion of their defeat. Nothing would satisfy them 
but a second expedition of the kind, to carry fire 
and sword throughout a wide part of the Moor- 
ish territories, and leave the region which had 
triumphed in their disaster a black and burning 
monument of their vengeance. Their wishes ac- 
corded with the policy of the king, to destroy 
the resources of the enemy ; every assistance was 
therefore given to their enterprise. 

In the spring of 1484, the ancient city of An- 
tiquera again resounded with arms ; numbers of 
the same cavaliers who had assembled there so 
gayly the preceding year, came wheeling into the 
gates with their steeled and shining warriors, but 
with a more dark and solemn brow than on that 
disastrous occasion, for they had the recollection 
of their slaughtered friends present to their minds, 
whose deaths they were to avenge. 

In a little while there was a chosen force of 



ANOTHER FORAY AGAINST THE MOORS. 191 

six thousand horse and twelve thousand foot as- 
sembled in Antiquera, many of them the very 
flower of Spanish chivalry, troops of the estab- 
lished military and religious orders, and of the 
Holy Brotherhood. 

Precautions had been taken to furnish this army 
with all things needful for its perilous inroad. 
Numerous surgeons accompanied it, who were to 
attend upon the sick and wounded, without charge, 
being paid for their services by the queen. Isa- 
bella also, in her considerate humanity, provided 
six spacious tents furnished with beds and all 
things needful for the wounded and infirm. 
These continued to be used in all great expe- 
ditions throughout the war, and were called the 
Queen's Hospital. The worthy father, Fray 
Antonio Agapida, vaunts this benignant provision 
of the queen, as the first introduction of a regu- 
lar camp hospital in campaigning service. 

Thus thoroughly prepared, the cavaliers issued 
forth from Antiquera in splendid and terrible 
array, but with less exulting confidence and 
vaunting ostentation than on their former foray ; 
and this was the order of the army. Don Alonzo 
de Aguilar led the advance guard, accompanied 
by Don Diego Fernandez de Cordova, the al- 
cayde de los Donceles, and Luis Fernandez Pu- 
erto Carrero, count of Palma, with their house- 
hold troops. They were followed by Juan de 
Merlo, Juan de Almara, and Carlos de Biezman, 
of the Holy Brotherhood, with the men-at-arms 
of their captaincies. 

The second battalion was commanded by the 



192 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

marques of Cadiz and the Master of Santiago, 
with the cavaliers of Santiago and the troops of 
the house of Ponce Leon ; with these also went 
the senior commander of Calatrava and the 
knights of that order, and various other cavaliers 
and their retainers. 

The right wing of this second battalion was 
led by Gonsalvo de Cordova, afterwards re- 
nowned as grand captain of Spam ; the left by- 
Diego Lopez de Avila. They were accompanied 
by several distinguished cavaliers, and certain 
captains of the Holy Brotherhood, with their 
men-at-arms. 

The duke of Medina Sidonia and the count de 
Cabra commanded the third battalion, with the 
troops of their respective houses. They were 
accompanied by other commanders of note, with 
their forces. 

The rear-guard was brought up by the senior 
commander and knights of Alcantara, followed 
by the Andalusian chivalry from Xerez, Ecija, 
and Carmona. 

Such was the army that issued forth from the 
gates of Antiquera, on one of the most exten- 
sive tolas, or devastating inroads, that ever laid 
waste the kingdom of Granada. 

The army entered the Moorish territory by 
the way of Alora, destroying all the corn-fields, 
vineyards, and orchards, and plantations of olives, 
round that city. It then proceeded through the 
rich valleys and fertile uplauds of Coin, Cazar- 
abonela, Almexia, and Cartama ; and in ten days 
all those fertile regions were a smoking and 



DESOLATION OF THE VEGA. 193 

s 

frightful desert. Hence it pursued its slow and 
destructive course, like the stream of lava of a 
volcano, through the regions of Pupiana and Al- 
hendin, and so on to the vega of Malaga, laying 
waste the groves of olives and almonds, and the 
iields of grain, and destroying every green thing. 
The Moors of some of those places interceded in 
vain for their groves and fields, offering to de- 
liver up their Christian captives. One part of 
the army blockaded the towns, while the other 
ravaged the surrounding country. Sometimes 
' the Moors sallied forth desperately to defend their 
property, but were driven back to their gates 
with slaughter and their suburbs pillaged and 
burnt. It was an awful spectacle at night to be- 
hold the volumes of black smoke mingled with 
lurid flames rising from the burning suburbs, and 
the women on the walls of the town wringing 
their hands and shrieking at the desolation of 
their dwellings. 

The destroying army, on arriving at the sea- 
coast, found vessels lying off shore laden with all 
kinds of provisions and munitions sent from Sev- 
ille and Xeres, and was thus enabled to con- 
tinue its desolating career. Advancing to the 
neighborhood of Malaga, it was bravely assailed 
by the Moors of that city, and there was severe 
skirmishing for a whole day ; but while the main 
part of the army encountered the enemy, the 
rest ravaged the whole vega and destroyed all 
the mills. As the object of the expedition was 
not to capture places, but merely to burn, ravage, 

and destroy, the host, satisfied with the mischief 
13 



194 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

they had done in the vega, turned their backs 
upon Malaga, and again entered the mountains. 
They passed by Coin, and through the regions of 
Allazayna, and Gatero, and Alhaurin ; all which 
were likewise desolated. In this way did they 
make the circuit of a chain of rich and verdant 
valleys, the glory of those mountains and the 
pride and delight of the Moors. For forty days 
did they continue on like a consuming fire, leav- 
ing a smoking and howling waste to mark their 
course, until, weary with the work of destruction, 
and having fully sated their revenge for the mas- 
sacre of the Axarquia, they returned in triumph 
to the meadows of Antiquera. 

In the month of June, king Ferdinand took 
command in person of this destructive army ; he 
increased its force, and added to its means of 
mischief several lombards and other heavy artil- 
lery, intended for the battering of towns, and 
managed by engineers from France and Ger- 
many. With these, the marques of Cadiz as- 
sured the king, he would soon be able to reduce 
the Moorish fortresses, which were only calcu- 
lated for defense against the engines anciently 
used in warfare. Their walls and towers were 
high and thin, depending for security on their 
rough and rocky situations. The stone and iron 
balls thundered from the lombards would soon 
tumble them in ruins upon the heads of their de- 
fenders. 

The fate of Alora speedily proved the truth 
of this opinion. It was strongly posted on a 
rock washed by a river. The artillery soon bat- 



CAPTURE OF ALORA AND SETENIL. 195 

tered down two of the towers and a part of the 
wall. The Moors were thrown into consterna- 
tion at the vehemence of the assault, and the 
effect of those tremendous engines upon their 
vaunted bulwarks. The roaring of the artillery 
and the tumbling of the walls terrified the women, 
who beset the alcayde with vociferous supplica- 
tions to surrender. The place was given up on 
the 20th of June, on condition that the inhabi- 
tants might depart with their effects. The people 
of Malaga, as yet unacquainted with the power 
of this battering ordnance, were so incensed at 
those of Alora for what they considered a tame 
surrender, that they would not admit them into 
their city. 

A similar fate attended the town of Setenil, 
built on a lofty rock, and esteemed impregnable. 
Many times had it been besieged under former 
Christian kings, but never taken. Even now, 
for several days the artillery was directed against 
it without effect, and many of the cavaliers mur- 
mured at the marques of Cadiz for having coun- 
seled the king to attack this unconquerable place. 1 

On the same night that these reproaches were 
uttered, the marques directed the artillery him- 
self: he leveled the lombards at the bottom of 
the walls and at the gates. In a little while the 
gates were battered to pieces, a great breach was 
effected in the walls, and the Moors were fain to 
capitulate. Twenty-four Christian captains, who 
had been taken in the defeat of the mountains of 
Malaga, were rescued from the dungeons of this 
1 Cur a de los Palacios. 



196 



CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



fortress, and hailed the marques as their deliv- 
erer. 

Needless is it to mention the capture of va- 
rious other places, which surrendered without 
waiting to be attacked. The Moors had always 
shown great bravery and perseverance in defend- 
ing their towns ; they were formidable in their 
sallies and skirmishes, and patient in enduring 
hunger and thirst when besieged ; but this ter- 
rible ordnance, which demolished their walls with 
such ease and rapidity, overwhelmed them with 
dismay, and rendered vain all resistance. King 
Ferdinand was so struck with the effect of this 
artillery, that he ordered the number of lorn bards 
to be increased ; and these potent engines had 
henceforth a great influence on the fortunes of 
this war. 

The last operation of this year, so disastrous to 
the Moors, was an inroad by Ferdinand, in the 
latter part of summer, into the vega, in which he 
ravaged the country, burned two villages near to 
Granada, and destroyed the mills near the very 
gates of the city. 

Old Muley Abul Hassan was overwhelmed 
with dismay at the desolation which, during the 
whole year, had raged throughout his territories, 
and had now reached the walls of his capital. 
His fierce spirit was broken by misfortunes and 
infirmity ; he offered to purchase a peace, and to 
hold his crown as a tributary vassal. Ferdinand 
would listen to no propositions : the absolute con- 
quest of Granada was the great object of this 
war, and he was resolved never to rest content 



TRIUMPHAL RETURN OF FERDINAND. 137 

without its complete fulfillment. Having sup- 
plied and strengthened the garrisons of the places 
taken in the heart of the Moorish territories, he 
enjoined their commanders to render every as- 
sistance to the younger Moorish king, in the civil 
war against his father. He then returned with 
his army to Cordova, in great triumph, closing a 
series of ravaging campaigns, which had filled 
the kingdom of Granada with grief and conster- 
nation. 



■** 



CHAPTER XXVIIL 

Attempt of El Zagal to surprise Boabdil in Almeria. 




IURING this year of sorrow and disas- 
ter to the Moors, the younger king 
Boabdil, most truly called the Unfortu- 
nate, held a diminished and feeble court in the 
maritime city of Almeria. He retained little 
more than the name of king, and was supported 
in even this shadow of royalty by the counte- 
nance and treasures of the Castilian sovereigns. 
Still he trusted that, in the fluctuation of events, 
the inconstant nation might once more return to 
his standard, and replace him on the throne of 
the Alhambra. 

His mother, the high-spirited sultana, Ayxa la 
Horra, endeavored to rouse him from this passive 
state. " It is a feeble mind," said she, " that 
waits for the turn of fortune's wheel ; the brave 
mind seizes upon it, and turns it to its purpose. 
Take the field, and you may drive danger before 
you ; remain cowering at home, and it besieges 
you in your dwelling. By a bold enterprise, you 
may regain your splendid throne in Granada ; by 
passive forbearance, you will forfeit even this 
miserable throne in Almeria." 

Boabdil had not the force of soul to follow 



CON SP IRA CY A GAINS T B OABDIL. 199 

these courageous counsels, and in a little time 
the evils his mother had predicted fell upon him. 

Old Muley Abul Hassan was almost extin- 
guished by age and paralysis. He had nearly 
lost his sight, and was completely bed-ridden. 
His brother, Abdallah, surnamed El Zagal, or 
the Valiant, the same who had assisted in the 
massacre of the Spanish chivalry among the 
mountains of Malaga, was commander-in-chief 
of the Moorish armies, and gradually took upon 
himself most of the cares of sovereignty. Among 
other things, he was particularly zealous in es- 
pousing his brother's quarrel with his son ; and 
he prosecuted it with such vehemence, that many 
affirmed there was something more than mere 
fraternal sympathy at the bottom of his zeal. 

The disasters and disgraces inflicted on the 
country by the Christians during this year had 
wounded the national feelings of the people of 
Almeria ; and many felt indignant that Boabdil 
should remain passive at such a time, or rather, 
should appear to make a common cause with the 
enemy. His uncle, Abdallah, diligently fomented 
this feeling by his agents. The same arts were 
made use of that had been successful in Granada. 
Boabdil was secretly but actively denounced by 
the alfaquis as an apostate, leagued with the 
Christians against his country and his early faith ; 
the affections of the populace and soldiery were 
gradually alienated from him, and a deep conspir 
acy concerted for his destruction. 

In the month of February, 1485, El Zagal 
suddenly appeared before Almeria, at the head 



200 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

of a troop of horse. The alfaquis were prepared 
for his arrival, and the gates were thrown open 
to him. He entered with his band, and galloped 
to the citadel. The alcayde would have made 
resistance ; but the garrison put him to death, 
and received El Zagal with acclamations. The 
latter rushed through the apartments of the Al- 
cazar, but he sought in vain for Boabdil. He 
found the sultana, Ayxa la Horra, in one of the 
saloons, with Aben Haxig, a younger brother of 
the monarch, and several Abencerrages, who ral- 
lied round them to protect them. " Where is 
the traitor Boabdil ? " exclaimed El Zagal. " I 
know no traitor more perfidious than thyself," ex- 
claimed the intrepid sultana ; " and I trust my 
son is in safety, to take vengeance on thy trea- 
son." The rage of El Zagal was without bounds 
when he learned that his intended victim had 
escaped. In his fury he slew the prince Aben 
Haxig, and his followers fell upon and massacred 
the Abencerrages. As to the proud sultana, she 
was borne away prisoner, and loaded with revil- 
ings, as having upheld her son in his rebellion, 
and fomented a civil war. 

The unfortunate Boabdil had been apprised of 
his danger by a faithful soldier, just in time to 
make his escape. Throwing himself on one of 
his fleetest horses, and followed by a handful 
of adherents, he galloped in the confusion out 
of the gates of Almeria. Several of the cavalry 
of El Zagal, stationed without the walls, per- 
ceived his flight, and attempted to pursue him ; 
their horses were jaded with travel, and he soon 



FLIGHT OF B0ABD1L. 201 

*eft them far behind. But whither was he to fly ? 
Every fortress and castle in the kingdom of Gran- 
ada was closed against him ; he knew not whom 
among the Moors to trust, for they had been 
taught to detest him as a traitor and an apostate. 
He had no alternative but to seek refuge among 
the Christians, his hereditary enemies. With a 
heavy heart, he turned his horse's head towards 
Cordova. He had to lurk, like a fugitive, 
through a part of his own dominions ; nor did 
he feel himself secure until he had passed the 
frontier, and beheld the mountain barrier of his 
country towering behind him. Then it was that 
he became conscious of his humiliating state — a 
fugitive from his throne, an outcast from his na- 
tion, a king without a kingdom. He smote his 
breast, in an agony of grief: " Evil indeed," ex- 
claimed he, " was the day of my birth, and truly 
was I named El Zogoybi, the Unlucky." 

He entered the gates of Cordova with down- 
cast countenance, and with a train of but forty 
followers. The sovereigns were absent ; but the 
cavaliers of Andalusia manifested that sympathy 
in the misfortunes of the monarch which becomes 
men of lofty and chivalrous souls. They re- 
ceived him with great distinction, attended him 
with the utmost courtesy, and he was honorably 
entertained by the civil and military commanders 
of that ancient city. 

In the mean time, El Zagal put a new alcayde 
over Almeria, to govern in the name of his 
brother; and, having strongly garrisoned the 
place, repaired to Malaga, where an attack of 



202 , CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the Christians was apprehended. The young 
monarch being driven out of the land, and the 
old monarch blind and bed-ridden, El Zagal, at 
the head of the armies, was virtually the sove- 
reign of Granada, He was supported by the 
brave and powerful family of the Alnayans and 
Venegas ; the people were pleased with having a 
new idol to look up to, and a new name to shout 
forth; and El Zagal was hailed with acclama- 
tions, as the main hope of the nation. 




CHAPTER XXIX. 

How King Ferdinand commenced another Campaign against 
the Moors, and how he laid Siege to Coin and Cartama. 




HE recent effect of the battering ord- 
nance in demolishing the Moorish for- 
tresses, induced king Ferdinand to pro- 
cure a powerful train for the campaign of 1485, 
intending to assault some of the most formidable 
holds of the enemy. An army of nine thousand 
cavalry and twenty thousand infantry assembled 
at Cordova, early in the spring; and the king 
took the field on the 5th of April. It had been 
determined in secret council, to attack the city of 
Malaga, that ancient and important seaport, on 
which Granada depended for foreign aid and sup- 
plies. It was thought proper previously, how- 
ever, to get possession of various towns and for- 
tresses in the valleys of Santa Maria and Car- 
tama, through which pass the roads to Malaga. 

The first place assailed was the town of Bena- 
mexi or Bonameji. It had submitted to the Cath- 
olic sovereigns in the preceding year, but had 
since renounced itf allegiance. King Ferdinand 
was enraged at the rebellion of the inhabitants. 
K I will make their punishment" said he, " a ter- 
ror to others : they shall be loyal through force, 



204 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

if not through faith." The place was carried by 
storm: one hundred and eight of the principal 
inhabitants were either put to the sword or 
hanged on the battlements : the rest were carried 
into captivity. 1 

The towns of Coin and Cartama were be- 
sieged on the same day ; the first by a division of 
the army led on by the marques of Cadiz, the 
second by another division commanded by Don 
Alonzo de Aguilar and Louis Fernandez Puerto 
Carrero, the brave senior of Palma. The king, 
with the rest of the army, remained posted be- 
tween the two places, to render assistance to either 
division. The batteries opened upon both places 
at the same time, and the thunder of the lombards 
was mutually heard from one camp to the other. 
The Moors made frequent sallies and a valiant 
defense ; but they were confounded by the tre- 
mendous uproar of the batteries, and the destruc- 
tion of their walls. In the mean time, the alarm- 
fires gathered together the Moorish mountaineers 
of all the Serrania, who assembled in great num- 
bers in the city of Monda, about a league from 
Coin. They made several attempts to enter the 
besieged town, but in vain : they were each time 
intercepted and driven back by the Christians, 
and were reduced to gaze at a distance in despair 
on the destruction of the place. While thus 
situated, there rode one day into Monda a fierce 
and haughty Moorish chieftain, at the head of a 
band of swarthy African horsemen : it was Hamet 
el Zegri, the fiery spirited alcayde of Ronda, at 
1 Pulgar, Garibay, Cura de bs Palacios. 



SEIGE OF COIN. 205 

the head of his band of Gomeres. He had not 
yet recovered from the rage and mortification of 
his defeat on the banks of the Lopera, in the dis- 
astrous foray of old Bexir, when he had been 
obliged to steal back furtively to his mountains, 
with the loss of the bravest of his followers. He 
had ever since panted for revenge. He now rode 
among the host of warriors assembled at Monda. 
" Who among you," cried he " feels pity for the 
women and children of Coin, exposed to captivity 
and death ? Whoever he is, let him follow me, 
who am ready to die as a Moslem for the relief 
of Moslems." So saying, he seized a white ban- 
ner, and, waving it over his head, rode forth 
from the town, followed by the Gomeres. Many 
of the warriors, roused by his words and his ex- 
ample, spurred resolutely after his banner. The 
people of Coin, being prepared for this attempt, 
sallied forth as they saw the white banner, and 
made an attack upon the Christian camp ; and 
in the confusion of the moment, Hamet and his 
followers galloped into the gates. This rein- 
forcement animated the besieged, and Hamet ex- 
horted them to hold out obstinately in defense of 
life and town. As the Gomeres were veteran 
warriors, the more they were attacked the harder 
they fought. 

At length, a great breach was made in the 
walls, and Ferdinand, who was impatient of the 
resistance of the place, ordered the duke of Nax- 
ara and the count of Benavente to enter with 
their troops ; and as their forces were not suf- 
ficient, he sent word to Louis de Cerda, duke of 



206 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Medina Celi, to send a part of his people to theii 
assistance. 

The feudal pride of the duke was roused at 
this demand. " Tell my lord the king," said the 
haughty grandee, " that I have come to succor 
him with my household troops: if my people are 
ordered to any place, I am to go with them ; but 
if I am to remain in the camp, my people must 
remain with me. For the troops cannot serve 
without their commander, nor their commander 
without his troops." 

The reply of the high-spirited grandee per- 
plexed the cautious Ferdinand, who knew the 
jealous pride of his powerful nobles. In the 
mean time, the people of the camp, having made 
all preparations for the assault, were impatient 
to be led forward. Upon this, Pero Ruyz de 
Alarcon put himself at their head, and, seizing 
their mantas, or portable bulwarks, and their 
other defenses, they made a gallant assault, and 
fought their way in at the breach. The Moors 
were so overcome by the fury of their assault, 
that they retreated, fighting, to the square of the 
town. Pero Ruyz de Alarcon thought the place 
was carried, when suddenly Hamet and his Go- 
meres came scouring through the streets with 
wild war-cries, and fell furiously upon the Chris- 
tians. The latter were in their turn beaten back, 
and, while attacked in the front by the Gomeres, 
were assailed by the inhabitants with all kinds of 
missiles from their roofs and windows. They at 
length gave way and retreated through the breach. 
Pero Ruyz de Alarcon still maintained his ground 



CAPTURE OF COIN AND CARTAMA. 207 

in one of the principal streets — the few cavaliers 
that stood by him urged him to fly : " No," said 
he ; " I came here to fight, and not to fly." He 
was presently surrounded by the Gomeres ; his 
companions fled for their lives ; the last they saw 
of him, he was covered with wounds, but still 
fighting desperately for the fame of a good cava- 
lier. 1 

The resistance of the inhabitants, though aided 
by the valor of the Gomeres, was of no avail. 
The battering artillery of the Christians demol- 
ished their walls;, combustibles thrown into their 
town, set it on fire in various places ; and they 
were at length compelled to capitulate. They 
were permitted to depart with their effects, and 
the Gomeres with their arms. Hamet el Zegri 
and his African band rode proudly through the 
Christian camp ; nor could the Spanish cavaliers 
refrain from regarding with admiration that 
haughty warrior and his devoted and dauntless 
followers. 

The capture of Coin was accompanied by that 
of Cartama : the fortifications of the latter were 
repaired and garrisoned ; but Coin, being too ex- 
tensive to be defended by a moderate force, its 
walls were demolished. The siege of these 
places struck such terror into the surrounding 
country, that the Moors of many of the neigh- 
boring towns abandoned their homes, and fled 
with such of their effects as they could carry 
away ; upon which the king gave order to de- 
molish their walls and towers. 

1 Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 42. 



208 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

King Ferdinand now left his camp and his heavy 
artillery near Cartama, and proceeded with his 
lighter troops to reconnoitre Malaga. By this 
time, the secret plan of attack, arranged in the 
council of war at Cordova, was known to all the 
world. The vigilant warrior, El Zagal, had 
thrown himself into the place, put all the fortifi- 
cations, which were of vast strength, into a state 
of defense, and sent orders to the alcaydes of the 
mountain towns, to hasten with their forces to 
his assistance. 

The very day that Ferdinand appeared before 
the place, El Zagal sallied forth to receive him, 
at the head of a thousand cavalry, the choicest 
warriors of Granada. A sharp skirmish took 
place among the gardens and olive-trees near the 
city. Many were killed on both sides ; and this 
gave the Christians a foretaste of what they might 
expect, if they attempted to besiege the place. 

When the skirmish was over, the marques of 
Cadiz had a private conference with the king. 
He represented the difficulty of besieging Mal- 
aga with their present force, especially as their 
plans had been discovered and anticipated, and 
the whole country was marching to oppose them. 
The marques, who had secret intelligence from 
all quarters, had received a letter from Juceph 
Xerife, a Moor of Ronda, of Christian lineage, 
apprising him of the situation of that important 
place and its garrison, which at that moment laid 
it open to attack ; and the marques was urgent 
with the king to seize upon this critical moment, 
and secure a place which was one of the most 



SIEGE OF MALAGA RAISED. 209 

powerful Moorish fortresses on the frontiers, and 
in the hands of Hamefc el Zegri had been the 
scourge of Andalusia. The good marques had 
another motive for his advice, becoming of a true 
and loyal knight. In the deep dungeons of Ronda 
languished several of his companions in arms, 
who had been captured in the defeat in the 
Axarquia. To break their chains, and restore 
them to liberty and light, he felt to be his pecu- 
liar duty, as one of those who had most promoted 
that disastrous enterprise. 

King Ferdinand listened to the advice of the 
marques. He knew the importance of Ronda, 
which was considered one of the keys to the 
kingdom of Granada ; and he was disposed to 
punish the inhabitants, for the aid they had ren- 
dered to the garrison of Coin. The siege of 
Malaga, therefore, was abandoned for the present, 
and preparations made for a rapid and secret 
move against the city of Ronda. 

U 






CHAPTER XXX. 

Siege of Honda. 

HE bold Hamet el Zegri, the alcayde of 
Ron da, had returned sullenly to his 
stronghold after the surrender of Coin. 
He had fleshed his sword in battle with the 
Christians, but his thirst for vengeance was still 
unsatisfied. Hamet gloried in the strength of 
his fortress, and the valor of his people. A fierce 
and warlike populace was at his command ; his 
signal -fires could summon all the warriors of the 
Serrania ; his Gomeres almost subsisted on the 
spoils of Andalusia ; and in the rock on which 
his fortress was built, were hopeless dungeons, 
filled with Christian captives, carried off by these 
war-hawks of the mountains. 

Ronda was considered as impregnable. It 
was situated in the heart of wild and rugged 
mountains, and perched upon an isolated rock, 
crested by a strong citadel, with triple walls and 
towers. A deep ravine, or rather a perpendicu- 
lar chasm of the rocks, of frightful depth, sur- 
rounded three parts of the city ; through this 
flowed the Rio Verde, or Green River. There 
were two suburbs to the city, fortified by walls 
and towers, and almost inaccessible, from the nat- 



INROAD OF HAMET EL ZEGRL 211 

ural asperity of the rocks. Around this rugged 
city were deep, rich valleys, sheltered by the 
mountains, refreshed by constant streams, abound- 
ing with grain and the most delicious fruits, and 
yielding verdant meadows, in which was reared a 
renowned breed of horses, the best in the whole 
kingdom for a foray. 

Hamet el Zegri had scarcely returned to 
Honda, when he received intelligence that the 
Christian army was marching to the siege of 
Malaga, and orders from El Zagal to send troops 
to his assistance. Hamet sent a part of his gar- 
rison for that purpose ; in the mean time, he 
meditated an expedition to which he was stim- 
ulated by pride and revenge. All Andalusia was 
now drained of its troops ; there was an oppor- 
tunity therefore for an inroad, by which he might 
wipe out the disgrace of his defeat at the battle 
of Lopera. Apprehending no danger to his 
mountain city, now that the storm of war had 
passed down into the vega of Malaga, he left but 
a remnant of his garrison to man its walls, and, 
putting himself at the head of his band of Gom- 
eres, swept down suddenly into the plains of An- 
dalusia. He careered, almost without resistance, 
over those vast campinas or pasture lands, which 
formed a part of the domains of the duke of Me- 
dina Sidonia. In vain the bells were rung, and 
the alarm fires kindled — the band of Hamet had 
passed by, before any force could be assembled, 
and was only to be traced, like a hurricane, by 
the devastation it had made. 

Hamet regained in safety the Serrania da 



212 CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 

Ronda, exulting in his successful inroad. The 
mountain glens were filled with long droves of 
cattle and flocks of sheep, from the campinas of 
Medina Sidonia. * There were mules, too, laden 
with the plunder of the villages ; and every war- 
rior had some costly spoil of jewels, for his favor- 
ite mistress. 

As the Zegri drew near to Ronda, he was 
roused from his dream of triumph by the sound 
of heavy ordnance bellowing through the moun- 
tain defiles. His heart misgave him — he put 
spurs to his horse, and galloped in advance of 
his lagging cavalgada. As he proceeded, the 
noise of the ordnance increased, echoing from cliff 
to cliff. Spurring his horse up a craggy height 
which commanded an extensive view, he beheld, 
to his consternation, the country about Ronda, 
white with the tents of a besieging army. The 
royal standard, displayed before a proud encamp- 
ment, showed that Ferdinand himself was present ; 
while the incessant blaze and thunder of artillery, 
and the volumes of overhanging smoke, told the 
work of destruction that was going on. 

The royal army had succeeded in coming upon 
Ronda by surprise, during the absence of its al- 
cayde and most of its garrison ; but its inhab- 
itants were warlike, and defended themselves 
bravely,* trusting that Hamet and his Gomeres 
would soon return to their assistance. 

The fancied strength of their bulwarks had been 
of little avail against the batteries of the besiegers. 
In the space of four days, three towers, and great 
masses of the walls which defended the suburbs, 



SIEGE OF RON DA. 213 

were battered down, and the suburbs taken and 
plundered. Lombards and other heavy ordnance 
were now leveled at the walls of the city, and 
stones and missiles of all kinds hurled into the 
streets. The very rock on which the city stood 
shook with the thunder of the artillery ; and the 
Christian captives, deep within its dungeons, 
hailed the sound as the promise of deliverance. 

When Hamet el Zegri beheld his city thus sur- 
rounded and assailed, he called upon his men to 
follow him, and cut their way through to its relief. 
They proceeded stealthily through the mountains, 
until they came to the nearest heights above the 
Christian camp. When night fell, and part of the 
army was sunk in sleep, they descended the rocks, 
and, rushing suddenly upon the weakest part of 
the camp, endeavored to break their way through 
and gain the city. The camp was too strong to 
be forced ; they were driven back to the crags of 
the mountains, whence they defended themselves 
by showering down darts and stones upon their 
pursuers. 

Hamet now lit alarm-fires about the heights : 
his standard was joined by the neighboring moun- 
taineers, and by troops from Malaga. Thus rein- 
forced, he made repeated assaults upon the Chris- 
tians, cutting off all stragglers from the camp. 
All his attempts to force his way into the city, 
however, were fruitless ; many of his bravest 
men were slain, and he was obliged to retreat 
into the fastnesses of the mountains. 

In the meanwhile, the distress of Ronda in- 
creased hourly. The marques of Cadiz, having 



214 CON QU AST OF GRANADA. 

possession of the suburbs, was enabled to ap* 
proach to the very foot of the perpendicular prec- 
ipice rising from the river, on the summit of 
which the city is built. At the foot of this rock 
is a living fountain of limpid water, gushing into 
a great natural basin. A secret mine led down 
from within the city to this fountain, by several 
hundred steps cut in the solid rock. Hence the 
city obtained its chief supply of water ; and these 
steps were deeply worn by the weary feet of 
Christian captives, employed in this painful labor. 
The marques of Cadiz discovered this subterra- 
neous passage, and directed his pioneers to coun- 
termine in the side of the rock; they pierced to 
the shaft, and, stopping it up, deprived the city 
of the benefit of this precious fountain. 

While the marques was thus pressing the 
siege with the generous thought of soon delivering 
his companions in arms from the Moorish dun- 
geons, far other were the feelings of the alcayde, 
Hamet el Zegri. He smote his breast and 
gnashed his teeth in impotent fury, as he beheld 
from the mountain cliffs the destruction of the 
city. Every thunder of the Christian ordnance 
seemed to batter against his heart. He saw 
tower after tower tumbling by day, and various 
parts of the city in a blaze at night. "They 
fired not merely stones from their ordnance," 
says a chronicler of the times, " but likewise great 
balls of iron, cast in moulds, which demolished 
everything they struck." They threw also balls 
of tow, steeped in pitch and oil and gunpowder, 
which, when once on fire, were not to be extin- 



HONDA SURRENDERS. 215 

guished, and which set the houses in flames. 
Great was the horror of the inhabitants : they 
knew not where to fly for refuge : their houses 
were in a blaze, or shattered by the ordnance ; 
the streets were perilous from the falling ruins 
and the bounding balls, which dashed to pieces 
everything they encountered. At night, the city 
looked like a fiery furnace ; the cries and wail- 
ings of the women between the thunders of the 
ordnance, reached even to the Moors on the op- 
posite mountains, who answered them by yells of 
fury and despair. 

All hope of external succor being at an end, 
the inhabitants of Ronda were compelled to cap- 
itulate. Ferdinand was easily prevailed upon to 
grant them favorable terms. The place was ca- 
pable of longer resistance ; and he feared for the 
safety of his camp, as the forces were daily aug- 
menting on the mountains, and making frequent 
assaults. The inhabitants were permitted to de- 
part with their effects, either to Barbary, Granada, 
or elsewhere; and those who chose to reside in 
Spain had lands assigned them, and were in- 
dulged in the practice of their religion. 

No sooner did the place surrender, than de- 
tachments were sent to attack the Moors who 
hovered about the neighboring mountains. Ha- 
inet el Zegri, however, did not remain to make a 
fruitless battle. He gave up the game as lost, 
and retreated with his Gomeres, filled with grief 
and rage, but trusting to fortune to give him 
future vengeance. 

The first care of the good marques of Cadiz, 



216 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

on entering Honda, was to deliver his unfortunate 
companions in arms from the dungeons of the 
fortress. What a difference in their looks from 
the time when, flushed with health and hope, and 
arrayed in military pomp, they had sallied forth 
upon the mountain foray! Many of them were 
almost naked, with irons at their ankles, and 
beards reaching to their waists. Their meeting 
with the marques was joyful ; yet it had the look 
of grief, for their joy was mingled with many 
bitter recollections. There was an immense num- 
ber of other captives, among whom were several 
young men of noble families, who, with filial 
piety, had surrendered themselves prisoners in 
place of their fathers. 

The captives were all provided with mules, and 
sent to the queen at Cordova. The humane heart 
of Isabella melted at the sight of the piteous 
cavalcade. They were all supplied by her with 
food and raiment, and money to pay their ex- 
penses to their homes. Their chains were hung 
as pious trophies against the exterior of the 
church of St. Juan de los Reyes, in Toledo, 
where the Christian traveller may regale his eyes 
with the sight of them at this very day. 1 

Among the Moorish captives was a young in- 
fidel maiden, of great beauty, who desired to be- 
come a Christian and to remain in Spain. She 
had been inspired with the light of the true faith, 
through the ministry of a young man who had 
been a captive in Honda. He was anxious to 
complete his good work by marrying her. The 

1 Seen by the author in 1826. 



TROPHIES AND CAPTIVES. 217 

queen consented to their pious wishes, having 
first taken care that the young maiden should be 
properly purified by the holy sacrament of 
baptism. 

".Thus this pestilent nest of warfare and in- 
fidelity, the city of Ronda," says the worthy Fray 
Antonio Agapida, " was converted to the true 
faith by the thunder of our artillery — an exam- 
ple which was soon followed by Casarabonela, 
Marbella, and other towns in these parts, inso- 
much that in the course of this expedition no less 
than seventy-two places were rescued from the 
vile sect of Mahomet, and placed under the be- 
nignant domination of the cross." 






CHAPTER XXXI. 

How the People of Granada invited El Zagal to the Throne 
and how he marched to the Capital. 

HE people of Granada were a versatile, 
unsteady race, and exceedingly given to 
make and unmake kings. They had, 
for a long time, vacillated between old Muley 
Abul Hassan and his son, Boabdil el Chico ; some- 
times setting up the one, sometimes the other, and 
sometimes both at once, according to the pinch and 
pressure of external evils. They found, however, 
that the evils still went on increasing, in defiance 
of every change, and were at their wits' end to 
devise some new combination or arrangement, by 
which an efficient government might be wrought 
out of two bad kings. When the tidings arrived 
of the fall of Ronda, and the consequent ruin of 
the frontier, a tumultuous assemblage took place 
in one of the public squares. As usual, the peo- 
ple attributed the misfortunes of the country to 
the faults of their rulers ; for the populace never 
imagine that any par.t of their miseries can 
originate with themselves. A crafty alfaqui, 
named Alyme Mazer, who had watched the cur- 
rent of their discontents, rose and harangued 
them : " You have been choosing and changing," 
said he, " between two monarchs — and who and 



EL ZAGAL ACCEPTS THE CROWN. 219 

what are they ? Muley Abul Hassan, for one ; 
a man worn out by age ajd infirmities, unable to 
sally forth against the foe, even when ravaging to 
the very gates of the city : and Boabdil el 
Chico, for the other ; an apostate, a traitor, a 
deserter from his throne, a fugitive among the 
enemies of his nation, a man fated to misfortune, 
and proverbially named ' the unlucky.' In a time 
of overwhelming war, like the present, he only is 
fit to sway a sceptre who can wield a sword. 
Would you seek such a man ? You need not 
look far. Allah has sent such a one, in this 
time of distress, to retrieve the fortunes of Gra- 
nada. You already know whom I mean. You 
know that it can be no other than your general, 
the invincible Abdallah, whose surname of El 
Zagal has become a watchword in battle, rousing 
the courage of the faithful, and striking terror 
into the unbelievers." 

The multitude received the words of the alfaqui 
with acclamations ; they were delighted with the 
idea of a third king over Granada ; and Abdallah 
el Zagal being of the royal family, and already 
in the virtual exercise of royal power, the measure 
had nothing in it that appeared either rash or 
violent. A deputation was therefore sent to El 
Zagal at Malaga, inviting him to repair to Gra- 
nada to receive the crown. 

El Zagal expressed great surprise and repug- 
nance, when the mission was announced to him ; 
and nothing but his patriotic zeal for the public 
safety, and his fraternal eagerness to relieve the 
aged Abul Hassan from the cares of government, 



220 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

prevailed upon him to accept the offer. Leaving, 
therefore, Recluax Vanegas, one of the bravest 
Moorish generals, in command of Malaga, he de- 
parted for Granada, attended by three hundred 
trusty cavaliers. 

Muley Abul Hassan did not wait for the 
arrival of his brother. Unable any longer to 
buffet with the storms of the times, his only 
solicitude was to seek some safe and quiet harbor 
of repose. In one of the deep valleys which 
indent the Mediterranean coast, and which are 
shut up on the land side by stupendous moun- 
tains, stoud the little city of Almunecar. The 
valley was watered by the limpid river Frio, and 
abounded with fruits, with grain and pasturage. 
The city was strongly fortified, and the garrison 
and alcayde were devoted to the old monarch. 
This was the place chosen by Muley Abul Has- 
san for his asylum. His first care was to send 
thither all his treasures ; his next care was to take 
refuge there himself; his third, that his sultana 
Zoraya, and their two sons, should follow him. 

In the mean time, Muley Abdallah el Zagal 
pursued his journey towards the capital, attended 
by his three hundred cavaliers. The road from 
Malaga to Granada winds close by Alhama, and 
is dominated by that lofty fortress. This had 
been a most perilous pass for the Moors, during 
the time that Alhama was commanded by the 
count de Tendilla : not a traveller could escape 
his eagle eye, and his garrison was ever ready for 
a sally. The count de Tendilla, however, had 
been relieved from this arduous post, and it had 






EL ZAGAL SURPRISES THE CAVALIERS. 221 

been given in charge to Don Gutiere de Padilla, 
elavero, or treasurer of the order of Calatrava : 
an easy, indulgent man, who had with him three 
hundred gallant knights of his order, besides 
other mercenary troops. The garrison had fallen 
off in discipline ; the cavaliers were hardy in fight 
and daring in foray, but confident in themselves 
and negligent of proper precautions. Just before 
the journey of El Zagal, a number of these cava- 
liers, with several soldiers of fortune of the gar- 
rison, in all about one hundred and seventy men, 
had sallied forth to harass the Moorish country 
during its present distracted state, and, having 
ravaged the valleys of the Sierra Nevada, or 
Snowy Mountains, were returning to Alhama in 
gay spirits and laden with booty. 

As El Zagal passed through the neighborhood 
of Alhama, he recollected the ancient perils of 
the road, and sent light cerradors in advance, to 
inspect each rock and ravine where a foe might 
lurk in ambush. One of these scouts, overlooking 
a narrow valley which opened upon the road, de- 
scried a troop of horsemen on the banks of a 
little stream. They were dismounted, and had 
taken the bridles from their steeds, that they might 
crop the fresh grass on the banks of the river. 
The horsemen were scattered about, some reposing 
in the shades of rocks and trees, others gambling 
for the spoil they had taken : not a sentinel was 
posted to keep guard ; everything showed the 
perfect security of men who consider themselves 
beyond the reach of danger. 

These careless cavaliers were in fact the 



222 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

knights of Calatrava returning from their foray. 
A part of their force had passed on with the 
cavalgada ; ninety of the principal cavaliers had 
halted to refresh themselves in this valley. El 
Zagal smiled with ferocious joy, when he heard of 
their negligent security. a Here will be trophies," 
said he, " to grace our entrance into Granada." 

Approaching the valley with cautious silence, 
he wheeled into it at full speed at the head of his 
troop, and attacked the Christians so suddenly, 
that they had not time to put the bridles upon 
their horses, or even to leap into the saddles. 
They made a confused but valiant defense, fight- 
ing among the rocks, and in the rugged bed of 
the river. Their defense was useless ; seventy- 
nine were slain, and the remaining eleven were 
taken prisoners. 

A party of the Moors galloped in pursuit of 
the cavalgada : they soon overtook it, winding 
slowly up a hill. The horsemen who conveyed 
it, perceiving the enemy at a distance, made their 
escape, and left the spoil to be retaken by the 
Moors. El Zagal gathered together his captives 
and his booty, and proceeded, elate with success, 
to Granada. 

He paused before the gate of Elvira, for as yet 
he had not been proclaimed king. This ceremony 
was immediately performed ; for the fame of his 
recent exploit had preceded him, and intoxicated 
the minds of the giddy populace. He entered 
Granada in a sort of triumph. The eleven cap- 
tive knights of Calatrava walked in front : next 
were paraded the ninety captured steeds, bearing 



TMUMPHANT ENTRY INTO GRANADA. 223 

the armor and weapons of their late owners, and 
led by as many mounted Moors : then came 
seventy Moorish horsemen, with as many Chris- 
tian heads hanging at their saddle-bows : Muley 
Abdallah followed, surrounded by a number of 
distinguished cavaliers splendidly attired ; and the 
pageant was closed by a long cavalgada of the 
flocks and herds, and other booty recovered from 
the Christians. l 

The populace gazed with almost savage triumph 
at these captive cavaliers and the gory heads of 
their companions, knowing them to have been 
part of the formidable garrison of Alhama, so 
long the scourge of Granada and the terror of the 
vega. They hailed this petty triumph as an 
auspicious opening of the reign of their new mon- 
arch ; for several days, the names of Muley Abul 
Hassan and Boabdii el Chico were never men- 
tioned but with contempt, and the whole city 
resounded with the praises of El Zagal, or the 
Valiant. 

i Zurita, lib. 20, c. 62. Mariana, Hist, de Espajia. Abarca, 
Anales de Aragon. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

Ww the Count de Cabra attempted to capture another King, 
and how he fared in his Attempt. 




HE elevation of a bold and active veteran 
to the throne of Granada, in place of 
its late bedridden king, made an impor- 
tant difference in the aspect of the war, and called 
for some blow that should dash the confidence 
of the Moors in their new monarch, and animate 
the Christians to fresh exertions. 

Don Diego de Cordova, the brave count de 
Cabra, was at this time in his castle of Vaena, 
where he kept a wary eye upon the frontier. It 
was now the latter part of August, and he 
grieved that the summer should pass away with- 
out an inroad into the country of the foe. He 
sent out his scouts on the prowl, and they brought 
him word that the important post of Moclin was 
but weakly garrisoned. This was a castellated 
town, strongly situated upon a high mountain, 
partly surrounded by thick forests, and partly 
girdled by a river. It defended one of the rug- 
ged and solitary passes, by which the Christians 
were wont to make their inroads ; insomuch that 
the Moors, in their figurative way, denominated 
it the shield of Granada. 






COUNT DE CABRA S PROJECT. 225 

The count de Cabra sent word to the monarchs 
of the feeble state of the garrison, and gave it as 
his opinion, that, by a secret and rapid expedition, 
the place might be surprised. King Ferdinand 
asked the advice of his counselors. Some cau- 
tioned him against the sanguine temperament of 
the count, and his heedlessness of danger ; Moc- 
lin, they observed, was near to Granada, and 
might be promptly reinforced. The opinion of 
the count, however, prevailed ; the king consider- 
ing him almost infallible, in matters of border 
warfare, since his capture of Boabdil el Chico. 

The king departed, therefore, from Cordova, 
and took post at Alcala la Real, for the purpose 
of being near to Moclin. The queen also pro- 
ceeded to Vaena, accompanied by her children, 
prince Juan and the princess Isabella, and her 
great counselor in all matters, public and private, 
spiritual and temporal, the venerable grand car- 
dinal of Spain. 

Nothing could exceed the pride and satisfaction 
of the loyal count de Cabra, when he saw this 
stately train winding along the dreary mountain 
roads, and entering the gates of Vaena. He re- 
ceived his royal guests with all due ceremony, 
and lodged them in the best apartments that the 
•warrior castle afforded. 

King Ferdinand had concerted a wary plan to 
insure the success of the enterprise. The count 
de Cabra and Don Martin Alonzo de Montemayor 
were to set forth with their troops, so as to reach 
Moclin by a certain hour, and to intercept all 
who should attempt to enter, or should sally from 
15 



226 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the town. The master of Calatrava, the troops 
of the grand cardinal, commanded by the count 
of Buendia, and the forces of the bishop of Jaen, 
led by that belligerent prelate, amounting in all 
to four thousand horse and six thousand foot, 
were to set off in time to cooperate with the 
count de Cabra, so as to surround the town. The 
king was to follow with his whole force, and en- 
camp before the place. 

And here the worthy padre Fray Antonio 
Agapida breaks forth into a triumphant eulogy of 
the pious prelates, who thus mingled personally 
in these scenes of warfare. As this was a holy 
crusade (says he), undertaken for the advance- 
ment of the faith and the glory of the church, so 
was it always countenanced and upheld by saintly 
men ; for the victories of their most Catholic ma- 
jesties were not followed, like those of mere 
worldly sovereigns, by erecting castles and tow- 
ers, and appointing alcaydes and garrisons ; but 
by the founding of convents and cathedrals, and 
the establishment of wealthy bishoprics. Where- 
fore their majesties were always surrounded, in 
court or camp, in the cabinet or in the field, by a 
crowd of ghostly advisers, inspiriting them to the 
prosecution of this most righteous war. Nay, the 
holy men of the church did not scruple, at times, 
to buckle on the cuirass over the cassock, to ex- 
change the crosier for the lance, and thus, with 
corporal hands and temporal weapons, to fight the 
good fight of the faith. 

But to return from this rhapsody of the wor- 
thy friar. The count de Cabra, being .instructed 



ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE EUZAGAL. 227 

in the complicated arrangements of the king, 
marched forth at midnight, to execute them punc* 
timlly. He led his troops by the little river that 
winds below Vaena, and so up to the wild defiles 
of the mountains, marching all night, and stop- 
ping only in the heat of the following day, to re- 
pose under the shadowy cliffs of a deep barranca, 
calculating to arrive at Moclin exactly in time to 
cooperate with the other forces. 

The troops had scarcely stretched themselves 
on the earth to take repose, when a scout ar- 
rived, bringing word that El Zagal had suddenly 
sallied out of Granada with a strong force, and 
had encamped in the vicinity of Moclin. It was 
plain that the wary Moor had received informa- 
tion of the intended attack. This, however, was 
not the idea that presented itself to the mind of 
the count de Cabra. He had captured one king 
— here was a fair opportunity to secure another. 
What a prisoner to deliver into the hands of his 
royal mistress ! Fired with the thoughts, the 
good count forgot all the arrangements of the 
king ; or rather, blinded by former success, he 
trusted everything to courage and fortune, and 
thought that, by one bold sweep, he might again 
bear off the royal prize, and wear his laurels 
without competition. 1 His only fear was that 
the master of Calatrava, and the belligerent 
bishop might come up in time to share the glory 
of the victory ; so ordering every one to horse, 
ihis hot-spirited cavalier pushed on for Moclin 
without allowing his troops the necessary time for 
repose. 

1 Mariana, lib. 25. e. 17. Abatfca. Zurita, etc. 



228 COM QUEST OF GRANADA. 

The evening closed, as the count arrived in the 
neighborhood of Moclin. It was the full of the 
moon, and a bright and cloudless night. The 
count was marching through one of those deep 
valleys or ravines, worn in the Spanish moun- 
tains by the brief but tremendous torrents which 
prevail during the autumnal rains. It was walled 
on each side by lofty and almost perpendicular 
cliffs, but great masses of moonlight were thrown 
into the bottom of the glen, glittering on the ar- 
mor of the shining squadrons, as they silently 
passed through it. Suddenly the war-cry of the 
Moors rose in various parts of the valley ; " El 
Zagal ! El Zagal ! " was shouted from every cliff, 
accompanied by showers of missiles, that struck 
down several of the Christian warriors. The 
count lifted up his eyes, and beheld, by the light 
of the moofl, every cliff glistening with Moorish 
soldiery. The deadly shower fell thickly round 
him, and the shining armor of his followers made 
them fair objects for the aim of the enemy. The 
count saw his brother Gonzalo struck dead by 
his side ; his own horse sank under him, pierced 
by four Moorish lances ; and he received a wound 
in the hand from an arquebuse. He remembered 
the horrible massacre of the mountains of Malaga, 
and feared a similar catastrophe. There was no 
time to pause. His brother's horse, freed from 
his slaughtered rider, was running at large ; seiz- 
ing the reins, he sprang into the saddle, called 
upon his men to follow him, and wheeling round, 
retreated out of the fatal valley. 

The Moors, rushing down from the heights, 



TRIUMPH OF EL ZAGAL. 223 

pursued the retreating Christians. The chase 
endured for a league, but it was a league of 
rough and broken road, where the Christians had 
to turn and fight at almost every step. In these 
short but fierce combats, the enemy lost many 
cavaliers of note ; but the loss of the Christians 
was infinitely more grievous, comprising numbers 
of the noblest warriors of Vaena and its vicinity. 
Many of the Christians, disabled by wounds or 
exhausted by fatigue, turned aside and endeav- 
ored to conceal themselves among rocks and 
thickets, but never more rejoined their compan- 
ions, being slain or captured by the Moors, or 
perishing in their wretched retreats. 

The arrival of the troops, led by the master 
of Calatrava and the bishop of Jaen, put an end 
to the rout. El Zagal contented himself with 
the laurels he had gained, and, ordering the 
trumpets to call off his men from the pursuit, re- 
turned in great triumph to Moclin. 1 

Queen Isabella was at Vaena, awaiting with 
great anxiety the result of the expedition. She 
was in a stately apartment of the castle, looking 
towards the road that winds through the moun- 
tains from Moclin, and regarding the watch-towers 
on the neighboring heights, in hopes of favorable 
signals. The prince and princess, her children, 
were with her, and her venerable counselor, the 
grand cardinal. All shared in the anxiety of 
the moment. At length couriers were seen riding 
toward the town. They entered its gates, but, 
before they reached the castle, the nature of their 

1 Zurita, lib. 20, c. 4. Pulgar, Cronica. 



230 CONQUEST Ob GRANADA. 

tidings was known to the queen, by the shrieks 
and waitings from the streets below. The mes- 
sengers were soon followed by wounded fugitives, 
hastening home to be relieved, or to die among 
their Mends and families. The whole town re- 
sounded with lamentations ; for it had lost the 
flower of its youth, and its bravest warriors. 
Isabella was a woman of courageous soul, but her 
feelings were overpowered by spectacles of woe 
on every side ; her maternal heart mourned over 
the death of so many loyal subjects, who shortly 
before had rallied round her with devoted affec- 
tion ; and, losing her usual self-command, she 
sank into deep despondency. 

In this gloomy state of mind, a thousand ap- 
prehensions crowded upon her. She dreaded the 
confidence which this success would impart to the 
Moors ; she feared also for the important fortress 
of Alhama, the garrison of which had not been 
reinforced, since its foraging party had been cut 
off by this same El Zagal. On every side she 
saw danger and disaster, and feared that a gene- 
ral reverse was about to attend the Castilian 
arms. 

The grand cardinal comforted her with both 
spiritual and worldly counsel. He told her to 
recollect that no country was ever conquered 
without occasional reverses to the conquerors ; 
that the Moors were a warlike people, fortified in 
a rough and mountainous country where they 
never could be conquered by her ancestors, — 
and that in fact her armies had already, in three 
years, taken more cities than those of any of her 



MAGNANIMITY OF ISABELLA. 231 

predecessors had been able to do in twelve. He 
concluded by offering to take the field himself, 
with three thousand cavalry, his own retainers, 
paid and maintained by himself, and either hasten 
to the relief of Alhama, or undertake any other ex- 
pedition her majesty might command. The dis- 
creet words of the cardinal soothed the spirit of 
the queen, who always looked to him for conso- 
lation ; and she soon recovered her usual equa- 
nimity. 

Some of the counselors of Isabella, of that 
politic class who seek to rise by the faults of 
others, were loud in their censures of the rashness 
of the count. The queen defended him with 
prompt generosity. " The enterprise," said she, 
" was rash, but not more rash than that of Lu- 
cena, which was crowned with success, and which 
w r e have applauded as the height of heroism. 
Had the count de Cabra succeeded in capturing 
the uncle, as he did the nephew, who is there 
that would not have praised him to the skies ? " 

The magnanimous words of the queen put a 
stop to all invidious reaiarks in her presence ; but 
certain of the courtiers, who had envied the count 
the glory gained by his former achievements, con- 
tinued to magnify, among themselves, his present 
imprudence ; and we are told by Fray Antonio 
Agapida, that they sneeringly gave the worthy 
cavalier the appellation of count de Cabra, the 
king-catcher. 

Ferdinand had reached the place on the fron- 
tier called the Fountain of the King, within three 
leagues of Moclin, when he heard of the late 



232 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

disaster. He greatly lamented the precipitation 
of the count, but forbore to express himself with 
severity, for he knew the value of that loyal and 
valiant cavalier. 1 He held a council of war, to 
determine what course was to be pursued. Some 
of his cavaliers advised him to abandon the at- 
tempt upon Moclin, the place being strongly rein- 
forced, and the enemy inspirited by his recent 
victory. Certain old Spanish hidalgos reminded 
him that he had but few Castilian troops in his 
army, without which stanch soldiery his prede- 
cessors never presumed to enter the Moorish ter- 
ritory ; while others remonstrated that it would 
be beneath the dignity of the king to retire from 
an enterprise on account of the defeat of a single 
cavalier and his retainers. In this way the king 
was distracted by a multitude of counselors, when 
fortunately a letter from the queen put an end to 
his perplexities. Proceed we, in the next chap- 
ter, to relate what was the purport of that letter. 

1 Abarca, Anales de Aragon. 








CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Expedition against the Castles of Cambil and Albahar, 

APPY are those princes," exclaims the, 
worthy padre, Fray Antonio Agapida, 
" who have women and priests to ad- 
vise them, for in these dwelleth the spirit of 
counsel." While Ferdinand and his captains 
were confounding each other in their deliberations 
at the Fountain of the King, a quiet but deep 
little council of war was held in the state apart- 
ment of the old castle of Vaena, between Queen 
Isabella, the venerable Pedro Gonzalez de Men- 
doza, grand cardinal of Spain, and Don Garcia 
Osorio, the belligerent bishop of Jaen. This last 
worthy prelate, who had exchanged his mitre for 
a helm, no sooner beheld the defeat of the enter- 
prise against Moclin, than he turned the reins of 
his sleek, stall-fed steed, and hastened back to 
Yaena, full of a project for the employment of 
the army, the advancement of the faith, and the 
benefit of his own diocese. He knew that the. 
actions of the king were influenced by the opin- 
ions of the queen, and that the queen always in- 
clined a listening ear to the counsels of saintly 
men : he laid his plans, therefore, with the cus- 
tomary wisdom of his cloth, to turn the ideas of 



234 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the queen into the proper channel ; and this was 
the purport of the worthy bishop's suggestions. 

The bishopric of Jaen had for a long time 
been harassed by two Moorish castles, the scourge 
and terror of all that part of the country. They 
were situated on the frontiers of the kingdom of 
Granada, about four leagues from Jaen, in a deep, 
narrow, and rugged valley, surrounded by lofty 
mountains. Through this valley runs the Rio 
Frio (or Cold River), in a deep channel, worn 
between high, precipitous banks. On each side 
of the stream rise two vast rocks, nearly perpen- 
dicular, within a stone's throw of each other, 
blocking up the gorge of the valley. On the 
summits of these rocks stood the two formidable 
castles, Cambil and Albahar, fortified with bat- 
tlements and towers of great height and thick- 
ness. They were connected together by a bridge, 
thrown from rock to rock across the river. The 
road, which passed through the valley, traversed 
this bridge, and was completely commanded by 
these castles. They stood like two giants of 
romance, guarding the pass, and dominating the 
valley. 

The kings of Granada, knowing the impor- 
tance of these castles, kept them always well gar- 
risoned, and victualled to stand a siege, with fleet 
steeds, and hard riders, to forage the country of 
the Christians. The warlike race of the Aben- 
cerrages, the troops of the royal household, and 
others of the choicest chivalry of Granada, made 
them their strongholds or posts of arms, whence 
to sally forth on those predatory and roving en- 



THE BISHOP OF JAEWS COUNSEL. 235 

terprises in which they delighted. As the wealthy 
bishopric of Jaen lay immediately at hand, it 
suffered more peculiarly from these marauders. 
They drove off the fat beeves and the flocks of 
sheep from the pastures, and swept the laborers 
from the field ; they scoured the country to the 
very gates of Jaen, so that the citizens could not 
venture from their walls without the risk of being 
borne off captive to the dungeons of these castles. 

The worthy bishop, like a good pastor, beheld 
with grief of heart his fat bishopric daily waxing 
leaner and leaner and poorer and poorer ; and his 
holy ire was kindled at the thoughts that the pos- 
sessions of the church should thus be at the mercy 
of a crew of infidels. It was the urgent counsel 
of the bishop, therefore, that the military force, 
thus providentially assembled in the neighborhood, 
since it was apparently foiled in its attempt upon 
Moclin, should be turned against these insolent 
castles, and the country delivered from their 
domination. The grand cardinal supported the 
suggestion of the bishop, and declared that he 
had long meditated the policy of a measure of 
the kind. Their united opinions found favor 
with the queen, and she dispatched a letter on 
the subject to the king. It came just in time to 
relieve him from the distraction of a multitude 
of counselors, and he immediately undertook the 
reduction of those castles. 

The marques of Cadiz was accordingly sent 
in advance, with two thousand horse, to keep a 
watch upon the garrisons, and prevent all en- 
trance or exit until the king should arrive with 



236 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the main army and the battering artillery. The 
queen, to be near at hand in ease of need, moved 
her quarters to the city of Jaen, where she was 
received with martial honors by the belligerent 
bishop, who had buckled on his cuirass and girded 
•on his sword, to fight in the cause of his diocese. 

In the mean time, the marques of Cadiz ar- 
rived in the valley, and completely shut up the 
Moors within their walls. The castles were 
under the command of Mahomet Lentin Ben 
Usef, an Abencerrage, and one of the bravest 
cavaliers of Granada. In his garrisons were 
many troops of the fierce African tribe of the 
Gomeres. Mahomet Lentin, confident in the 
strength of his fortresses, smiled as he looked 
down from his battlements upon the Christian 
cavalry, perplexed in the rough and narrow val- 
ley. He sent forth skirmishing parties to harass 
them, and there were many sharp combats be- 
tween small parties and single knights ; but the 
Moors were driven back to their castles, and all 
attempts to send intelligence of their situation to 
Granada were frustrated by the vigilance of the 
marques of Cadiz. 

At length the legions of the royal army came 
pouring, with vaunting trumpet and fluttering 
banner, along the defiles of the mountains. They 
halted before the castles, but the king could not 
find room in the narrow and rugged valley to 
form his camp ; he had to divide it into three 
parts, which were posted on different heights ; and 
his tents whitened the sides of the neighboring 
bills. When the encampment was formed, the 



ATTEMPT UPON THE CASTLES. 237 

army remained gazing idly at the castles. The 
artillery was upwards of four leagues in the rear, 
and without artillery all attack would be in vain. 

The alcayde Mahomet Leutin knew the nature 
of the road by which the artillery had to be 
brought. It was merely a narrow and rugged 
path, at times scaling almost perpendicular crags 
and precipices, up which it was utterly impossible 
for wheel carriages to pass ; neither was it in the 
power of man or beasc to draw up the lombards, 
and other ponderous ordnance. He felt assured, 
therefore, that they never could be brought to the 
camp ; and, without their aid, what could the 
Christians effect against his rock-built castles ? 
He scoffed at them, therefore, as he saw their 
tents by day and their fires by night covering the 
surrounding heights. " Let them linger here a 
little while longer," said he, '• and the autumnal 
torrents will wash them from the mountains." 

While the alcayde was thus closely mewed up 
within his walls, and the Christians remained 
inactive in their camp, he noticed, one calm 
autumnal day, the sound of implements of labor 
echoing among the mountains, and now and then 
the crash of a falling tree, or a thundering report, 
as if some rock had been heaved from its bed and 
hurled into the valley. The alcayde was on the 
battlements of his castle, surrounded by his 
knights. " Methinks," said he, " these Christians 
are making war upon the rocks and trees of 
the mountains, since they find our castles un- 
assailable." 

The sounds did not cease even during the 



238 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

night : every now and then, the Moorish sentinel, 
as he paced the battlements, heard some crash 
echoing among the heights. The return of day 
explained the mystery. Scarcely did the sun 
shine against the summits of the mountains, than 
shouts burst from the cliffs opposite to the castles, 
and were answered from the camp, with joyful 
sound of kettle-drums and trumpets. 

The astonished Moors lifted up their eyes, and 
beheld, as it were, a torrent of war breaking out 
of a narrow defile. There was a multitude of 
men, with pickaxes, spades, and bars of iron, 
clearing away every obstacle ; while behind them 
slowly moved along great teams of oxen, dragging 
heavy ordnance, and all the munitions of battering 
artillery. 

" What cannot women and priests effect, when 
they unite in council ? " exclaims again the 
worthy Antonio Agapida. The queen had held 
another consultation with the grand cardinal and 
the belligerent bishop of Jaen. It was clear that 
the heavy ordnance could never be conveyed to 
the camp by the regular road of the country ; and 
without battering artillery, nothing could be ef- 
fected. It was suggested, however, by the zealous 
bishop, that another road might be opened through 
a more practicable part of the mountains. It 
would be an undertaking extravagant and chi- 
merical, with ordinary means ; and, therefore, 
unlooked for by the enemy : but what could not 
kings effect, who had treasures and armies at 
command ? 

The project struck the enterprising spirit of the 



TRIUMPH OVER OBSTACLES. 239 

queen. Six thousand men, with pickaxes, crow- 
bars, and every other necessary implement, were 
set to work day and night, to break a road 
through the very centre of the mountains. No 
time was to be lost, for it was rumored that El 
Zagal was about to march with a mighty host to 
the relief of the castles. The bustling bishop of 
Jaen acted as pioneer, to mark the route and 
superintend the laborers ; and the grand cardinal 
took care that the work should never languish 
through lack of means. 1 

" When kings' treasures," says Fray Antonio 
Agapida, " are dispensed by priestly hands, there 
is no stint, as the glorious annals of Spain bear 
witness. Under the guidance of these ghostly 
men, it seemed as if miracles were effected. 
Almost an entire mountain was leveled, valleys 
were filled up, trees hewn down, rocks broken 
and overturned ; in short, all the obstacles which 
nature had heaped around, entirely and promptly 
vanished. In little more than twelve days, this 
gigantic work was effected, and the ordnance 
dragged to the camp, to the great triumph of the 
Christians and confusion of the Moors." 2 

No sooner was the heavy artillery arrived, 
than it was mounted, in all haste, upon the neigh- 
boring heights : Francisco Ramirez de Madrid, 
the first engineer in Spain, superintended the 
batteries and soon opened a destructive fire upon 
castles. 

When the alcayde, Mahomet Lentin, found his 

1 Zurita, Anales de Aragon, lib. 20, c 64. Pulgar, part 3. 
cap. 51. 2 Idem. 



240 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

towers tumbling about him, and his bravest men 
dashed from the walls, without the power of 
inflicting a wound upon the foe, his haughty 
spirit was greatly exasperated. " Of what avail," 
said he, bitterly, " is all the prowess of knight- 
hood against these cowardly engines that murder 
from afar ? " 

For a whole day, a tremendous fire kept thun- 
dering upon the castle of Albahar. The lombards 
discharged large stones, which demolished two of 
the towers, and all the battlements which guarded 
the portal. If any Moors attempted to defend 
the walls or repair the breaches, they were shot 
down by ribadoquines, and other small pieces of 
artillery. The Christian soldiery issued from the 
camp, under cover of this fire ; and, approaching 
the castles, discharged flights of arrows and stones 
through the openings made by the ordnance. 

At length, to bring the siege to a conclusion, 
Francisco Ramirez elevated some of the heaviest 
artillery on a mount that rose in form of a cone 
or pyramid, on the side of the river near to 
Albahar, and commanded both castles. This was 
an operation of great skill and excessive labor, 
but it was repaid by complete success ; for the 
Moors did not dare to wait until this terrible bat- 
tery should discharge its fury. Satisfied that all 
further resistance was vain, the valiant alcayde 
made signal for a parley. The articles of ca- 
pitulation were soon arranged. The alcayde and 
his garrisons were permitted to return in safety 
to the city of Granada, and the castles were 
delivered into the possession of King Ferdinand, 






EFFECTS OF THE CAPTURE. 241 

on the day of the festival of St. Matthew, in the 
month of September. They were immediately 
repaired, strongly garrisoned, and delivered in 
charge of the city of Jaen. 

The effects of this triumph were immediately 
apparent. Quiet and security once more settled 
upon the bishopric. The husbandmen tilled their 
fields in peace, the herds and flocks fattened 
unmolested in the pastures, and the vineyards 
yielded corpulent skinsful of rosy wine. The 
good bishop enjoyed, in the gratitude of his peo- 
ple, the approbation of his conscience, the increase 
of his revenues, and the abundance of his table, a 
reward for all his toils and perils. " This glo- 
rious victory," exclaims Fray Antonio Agapida, 
I achieved by such extraordinary management 
and infinite labor, is a shining example of what a 
bishop can effect, for the promotion of the faith 
and the good of his diocese." 

16 





CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Enterprise of the Knights of Calatrava against Zalea. 



HILE these events were taking place on 
the northern frontier of the kingdom of 
Granada, the important fortress of Al- 
was neglected, and its commander, Don 




hama 



Gutiere de Padilla, clavero of Calatrava, reduced 
to great perplexity. The remnant of the forag- 
ing party, which had been surprised and massa- 
cred by El Zagal when on his way to Granada to 
receive the crown, had returned in confusion and 
dismay to the fortress. They could only speak 
of their own disgrace, being obliged to abandon 
their cavalgada and fly, pursued by a superior 
force : of the flower of their party, the gallant 
knights of Calatrava, who had remained behind 
in the valley, they knew nothing. A few days 
cleared up the mystery of their fate : tidings were 
brought that their bloody heads had been borne 
in triumph into Granada. The surviving knights 
of Calatrava, who formed a part of the garrison, 
burned to revenge the death of their comrades, 
and to wipe out the stigma of this defeat ; but 
the clavero had been rendered cautious by disas- 
ter — he resisted all their entreaties for a foray. 
His garrison was weakened by the loss of so 






ENTERPRISE AGAINST ZALEA. 243 



many of its bravest men ; the vega was patrolled 
by numerous and powerful squadrons, sent forth 
by El Zagal ; above all, the movements of the 
garrison were watched by the warriors of Zalea, 
a strong town, only two leagues distant, on the 
road towards Loxa. This place was a continual 
check upon Alhama, when in its most powerful 
state, placing ambuscades to entrap the Christian 
cavaliers in the course of their sallies. Frequent 
and bloody skirmishes had taken place, in conse- 
quence^; and the troops of Alhama, when return- 
l ing from their forays, had often to fight their way 
back through the squadrons of Zalea. Thus sur- 
rounded by dangers, Don Gutiere de Padilla re- 
strained the eagerness of his troops for a sally, 
knowing that any additional disaster might be fol- 
lowed by the loss of Alhama. 

In the meanwhile provisions began to grow 
scarce ; they were unable to forage the country 
as usual for supplies, and depended for relief 
upon the Castilian sovereigns. The defeat of 
the count de Cabra filled the measure of their 
perplexities, as it interrupted the intended rein- 
forcements and supplies. To such extremity 
were they reduced, that they were compelled to 
kill some of their horses for provisions. 

The worthy clavero, Don Gutiere de Padilla, 
was pondering one day on this gloomy state of 
affairs, when a Moor was brought before him who 
had surrendered himself at the gate of Alhama, 
(&d claimed an audience. Don Gutiere was ac- 
customed to visits of the kind from renegado 
Moors, who roamed the country as spies and 



244 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

adalides ; but the countenance of this man was 
quite unknown to him. He had a box strapped 
to his shoulders, containing divers articles of traf- 
fic, and appeared to be one of those itinerant 
traders, who often resorted to Alhama and the 
other garrison towns, under pretext of vending 
trivial merchandise, such as amulets, perfumes, 
and trinkets, but who often produced rich shawls, 
golden chains and necklaces, and valuable gems 
and jewels. 

The Moor requested a private conference with 
the clavero : " I have a precious jewel," said he, 
" to dispose of." 

"I want no jewels," replied Don Gutiere. 

" For the sake of Him who died on the cross, 
the great prophet of your faith," said the Moor, 
solemnly, " refuse not my request ; the jewel I 
speak of you alone can purchase, but I can only 
treat about it in secret." 

Don Gutiere perceived there was something 
hidden under these mystic and figurative terms, 
in which the Moors were often accustomed to 
talk. He motioned his attendants to retire. 
When they were alone, the Moor looked cau- 
tiously around the apartment, and then, approach- 
ing close to the knight, demanded in a low voice, 
"What will you give me, if I deliver the fortress 
of Zalea into your hands ? " 

Don Gutiere looked with surprise at the hum- 
ble individual that made such a suggestion. 

" What means have you," said he, " of effec^ 
ing such a proposition ? " 

"I have a brother in the garrison of Zalea,' 



REVENGEFUL PROPOSAL. 245 

replied the Moor, "who, for a proper compensa- 
tion, would admit a body of troops into the cita- 
del" 

Don Gutiere turned a scrutinizing eye upon 
the Moor. " What right have I to believe," said 
he, " that thou wilt be truer to me, than to those 
of thy blood and thy religion ? " 

" I renounce all ties to them, either of blood 
or religion," replied the Moor ; " my mother was 
a Christian captive ; her country shall henceforth 
be my country, and her faith, my faith." 1 

The doubts of Don Gutiere were not dispelled 
by this profession of mongrel Christianity. 
" Granting the sincerity of thy conversion," said 
he, " art thou under no obligations of gratitude 
or duty to the alcayde of the fortress thou 
wouldst betray ? " 

The eyes of the Moor flashed fire at the words ; 
he gnashed his teeth with fury. "The alcayde," 
cried he, " is a dog ! He has deprived my 
brother of his just share of booty ; he has robbed 
me of my merchandise, treated me worse than a 
Jew when I murmured at his injustice, and or- 
dered me to be thrust forth ignominiously from 
his walls. May the curse of God fall upon my 
head, if I rest content until I have full revenge ! " 

" Enough," said Don Gutiere : " I trust more 
to thy revenge than thy religion." 

The good clavero called a council of his offi- 
cers. The knights of Calatrava were unani- 
naous for the enterprise — zealous to appease 
the manes of their slaughtered comrades. Don 

1 Cur a de k>s Palacios. 



246 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Gutiere reminded them of the state of the garri- 
son, enfeebled by their late loss, and scarcely suf- 
ficient for the defense of the walls. The cava- 
liers replied, that there was no achievement with- 
out risk, and that there would have been no great 
actions recorded in history, had there not been 
daring spirits ready to peril life to gain renown. 

Don Gutiere yielded to the wishes of his 
knights, for to have resisted any further might 
have drawn on him the imputation of timidity ; 
he ascertained by trusty spies that everything in 
Zalea remained in the usual state, and he made 
all the requisite arrangements for the attack. 

When the appointed night arrived, all the cav- 
aliers were anxious to engage in the enterprise ; 
but the individuals were decided by lot. They 
set out, under the guidance of the Moor ; and 
when they had arrived in the vicinity of Zalea, they 
bound his hands behind his back, and their leader 
pledged his knightly word to strike him dead, on 
the first sign of treachery. He then bade him to 
lead the way. 

It was near midnight when they reached the 
walls of the fortress. They passed silently along 
until they found themselves below the citadel. 
Here their guide made a low and preconcerted sig- 
nal : it was answered from above, and a cord let 
down from the wall. The knights attached to it 
a ladder, which was drawn up and fastened. Gu- 
tiere Munoz was the first that mounted, followed 
by Pedro de Alvarado, both brave and hardy sol- 
diers. A handful succeeded; they were attacked 
by a party of guards, but held them at bay until 



ZALEA TAKEN. 247 

more of their comrades ascended; with their as- 
sistance they gained possession of a tower and 
part of the wall. The garrison, by this time, was 
aroused ; but before they could reach the scene of 
action, most of the cavaliers were within the bat- 
tlements. A bloody contest raged for about an 
hour — several of the Christians were slain, but 
many of the Moors ; at length the citadel was 
carried, and the town submitted without resistance. 

Thus did the gallant knights of Calatrava gain 
the strong town of Zalea with scarcely any loss, 
and atone for the inglorious defeat of their com- 
panions by El Zagal. They found the magazines 
of the place well stored with provisions, and were 
enabled to carry a seasonable supply to their own 
famishing garrison. 

The tidings of this event reached the sove- 
reigns, just after the surrender of Cambil and 
Albahar. They were greatly rejoiced at this ad- 
ditional success of their arms, and immediately 
sent strong reinforcements and ample supplies for 
both Alhama and Zalea. They then dismissed 
the army for the winter. Ferdinand and Isa- 
bella retired to Alcala de Henares, where the 
queen, on the 16th of December, 1485, gave 
birth to the princess Catharine, afterwards wife of 
Henry VIIL, of England. Thus prosperc usly 
terminated the checkered campaign of this im- 
portant year. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



Death of Muley Abul Hassan. 




ULEY ABDALLAH EL ZAGAL had 

been received with great acclamations 
at Granada, on his return from defeat- 
ing the count de Cabra. He had endeavored to 
turn his victory to the greatest advantage with 
his subjects ; giving tilts and tournaments, and 
other public festivities, in which the Moors de- 
lighted. The loss of the castles of Cambil and 
Albahar, and of the fortress of Zalea, however, 
checked this sudden tide of popularity ; and some 
of the fickle populace began to doubt whether 
they had not been rather precipitate in deposing 
his brother, Muley Abul Hassan. 

That superannuated monarch remained in his 
faithful town of Almunecar, on the border of the 
Mediterranean, surrounded by a few adherents, 
together with his wife Zoraya and his children ; 
and he had all his treasures safe in his possession. 
The fiery heart of the old king was almost burnt 
out, and all his powers of doing either harm or 
good seemed at an end. 

While in this passive and helpless state, his 
brother El Zagal manifested a sudden anxiety for 
his health. He had him removed, with all ten- 



DEATH OF MULEY ABUL HASSAN ^ 249 

derness and care, to Salobrena, another fortress 
on the Mediterranean coast, famous for its pure 
and salubrious air ; and the alcayde, who was a 
devoted adherent to El Zagal, was charged to 
have especial care that nothing was wanting to 
the comfort and solace of his brother. 

Salobrena was a small town, situated on a lofty 
and rocky hill, in the midst of a beautiful and 
fertile vega, shut up on three sides by mountains, 
and opening on the fourth to the Mediterranean. 
It was protected by strong walls and a powerful 
castle, and, being deemed impregnable, was often 
used by the Moorish kings as a place of deposit 
for their treasures. They were accustomed also 
to assign it as a residence for such of their sons 
and brothers as might endanger the security of 
their reign. Here the princes lived, in luxurious 
repose : they had delicious gardens, perfumed 
baths, a harem of beauties, at their command — ■ 
nothing was denied them but the liberty to de- 
part ; that alone was wanting to render this 
abode an earthly paradise. 

Such was the delightful place appointed by El 
Zagal for the residence of his brother ; but not- 
withstanding its wonderful salubrity, the old mon- 
arch had not been removed thither many days 
before he expired. There was nothing extraor- 
dinary in his death : life with him had long been 
glimmering in the socket, and for some time past 
he might rather have been numbered with the 
dead than with the living. The public, however, 
are fond of seeing things in a sinister and mys- 
terious point of view, and there were many dark 



250 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

surmises as to the cause of this event. El Za^al 
acted in a manner to heighten these suspicions : 
he caused the treasures of his deceased brother 
to be packed on mules and brought to Granada, 
where he took possession of them, to the exclu- 
sion of the children of Abul Hassan. The sul- 
tana Zoraya and her two sons were lodged in the 
Alhambra, in the tower of Co mares. This was 
a residence in a palace — but it had proved a 
royal prison to the sultana Ayxa la Horra, and 
her youthful son Boabdil. There the unhappy 
Zoraya had time to meditate upon the disappoint- 
ment of all those ambitious schemes for herself 
and children, for which she had stained her con- 
science with so many crimes. 

The corpse of old Muley was also brought to 
Granada, not in state becoming the remains of a 
once powerful sovereign, but transported on a 
mule, like the corpse of the poorest peasant. It 
received no honor or ceremonial from El Zagal, 
and appears to have been interred obscurely, to 
prevent anj popular sensation, and it is recorded 
by an ancient and faithful chronicler of the time, 
that the body of the old monarch was deposited 
by two Christian captives in his osario or charnel- 
house. 1 Such was the end of the turbulent 
Muley Abul Hassan, who, after passing his life in 
constant contests for empire, could scarce gain 
quiet admission into the corner of a sepulchre. 

No sooner were the populace well assured that 
old Muley Abul Hassan was dead, and beyond 
recovery, than they all began to extol his mem- 

1 Cur a de los Palacios* c. 77. 



PARTIAL RESTORATION OF BOABDIL. 251 

ory, and deplore his loss. They admitted that 
he had been fierce and cruel, but then he had 
been brave ; he had, to be sure, pulled this war 
upon their heads, but he had likewise been 
crushed by it. In a word, he was dead ; and his 
death atoned for every fault ; for a king, recently 
dead, is generally either a hero or a saint. 

In proportion as they ceased to hate old Mu- 
ley, they began to hate his brother. The circum- 
stances of the old king's death, the eagerness to 
appropriate his treasures, the scandalous neglect 
of his corpse, and the imprisonment of his sul- 
tana and children, all filled the public mind with 
gloomy suspicions ; and the epithet of Fratricide ! 
was sometimes substituted for that of El Zagal, 
in the low murmurings of the people. 

As the public must always have some object 
to like as well as to hate, there began once more 
to be an inquiry after their fugitive king, Boab- 
dil el Chico. That unfortunate monarch was still 
at Cordova, existing on the cool courtesy and 
meagre friendship of Ferdinand ; which had 
waned exceedingly, ever since Boabdil had ceased 
to have any influence in his late dominions. The 
reviving interest expressed in his fate by the 
Moorish public, and certain secret overtures made 
to him, once more aroused the sympathy of Fer- 
dinand : he advised Boabdil again to set up his 
standard within the frontiers of Granada, and 
furnished him with money and means for the 
purpose. Boabdil advanced but a little way into 
his late territories ; he took up his post at Velez 
el Blanco, a strong town on the confines of Mux- 



252 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

cia ; there he established the shadow of a court, 
and stood, as it were, with one foot over the 
border, and ready to draw that back upon the 
least alarm. His presence in the kingdom, how- 
ever, and his assumption of royal state, gave life 
to his faction in Granada. The inhabitants of 
the Albaycin, the poorest but most warlike part 
of the populace, were generally in his favor : the 
more rich, courtly, and aristocratical inhabitants 
of the quarter of the Alhambra, rallied round 
what appeared to be the most stable authority, 
and supported the throne of El Zagal. So it is, 
in the admirable order of sublunary affairs : 
everything seeks its kind ; the rich befriend the 
rich, the powerful stand by the powerful, the poor 
enjoy the patronage of the poor — and thus a 
universal harmony prevails ! 




CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Of the Christian Army which assembled at the City of Cor- 
dova. 




REAT and glorious was the style with 
which the Catholic sovereigns opened 
another year's campaign of this eventful 
war. It was like commencing another act of a 
stately and heroic drama, where the curtain rises 
to the inspiring sound of martial melody and the 
whole stage glitters with the array of warriors 
and the pomp of arms. The ancient city of Cor- 
dova was the place appointed by the sovereigns 
for the assemblage of the troops ; and early in 
the spring of 1486, the fair valley of the Gua- 
dalquivir resounded with the shrill blast of trum- 
pet, and the impatient neighing of the war-^iorse. 
In this splendid era of Spanish chivalry, there 
was a rivalship among the nobles who most 
should distinguish himself by the splendor of his 
appearance, and the number and equipments of his 
feudal followers. Every day beheld some cava- 
lier of note, the representative of some proud and 
powerful house, entering the gates of Cordova 
with sound of trumpet, and displaying his ban- 
ner and device, renowned in many a contest. He 
would appear in sumptuous array, surrounded by 
pages and lackeys no less gorgeously attired, and 



254 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

followed by a host of vassals and retainers, norse 
and foot, all admirably equipped in burnished ar- 
mor. 

Such was the state of Don Inigo Lopez de 
Mendoza, duke of Infantado ; who may be cited 
as a picture of a warlike noble of those times. 
He brought with him five hundred men-at-arms 
of his household, armed and mounted a la gineta 
and a la guisa. The cavaliers who attended him 
were magnificently armed and dressed. The 
housings of fifty of his horses were of rich cloth, 
embroidered with gold; and others were of bro- 
cade. The sumpter mules had housings of the 
same, with halters of silk ; while the bridles, 
head-pieces, and all the harnessing, glittered with 
silver. 

The camp equipage of these noble and luxuri- 
ous warriors was equally magnificent. Their 
tents were gay pavilions, of various colors, fitted 
up with silken hangings and decorated with flut- 
tering pennons. They had vessels of gold and 
silver |br the service of their tables, as if they 
were about to engage in a course of stately feasts 
and courtly revels, instead of the stern encoun- 
ters of rilled and mountainous warfare. Some- 
times they passed through the streets of Cordova 
at night, in splendid cavalcade, with great num- 
bers of lighted torches, the rays of which, falling 
upon polished armor and nodding plumes, and 
silken scarfs, and trappings of golden embroidery, 
filled all beholders with admiration. 1 

But it was not the chivalry of Spain, alone, 
1 Pulgar, part 3, cap. 41, 56. 



CHRISTIAN ARMY AT CORDOVA. 255 

which thronged the streets of Cordova. The 
fame of this war had spread throughout Chris- 
tendom : it was considered a kind of crusade ; and 
Catholic knights from all parts hastened to sig- 
nalize themselves in so holy a cause. There 
were several valiant chevaliers from France, 
among whom the most distinguished was Gaston 
du Leon, seneschal of Toulouse. With him 
came a gallant train, well armed and mounted, 
and decorated with rich surcoats and panaches of 
feathers. These cavaliers, it is said, eclipsed all 
others in the light festivities of the court : they 
were devoted to the fair, but not after the solemn 
and passionate manner of the Spanish lovers; 
they were gay, gallant, and joyous in their 
amours, and captivated by the vivacity of their 
attacks. They were at first held in light estima- 
tion by the grave and stately Spanish knights, 
until they made themselves to be respected by 
their wonderful prowess in the field. 

The most conspicuous of the volunteers, how- 
ever, who appeared in Cordova on this occasion, 
was an English knight of royal connection. 
This was the lord Scales, earl of Rivers, brother 
to the queen of England, wife of Henry VII. 
He had distinguished himself in the preceding 
year, at the battle of Bosworth field, where 
Henry Tudor, then earl of Richmond, overcame 
Richard III. That decisive battle having left 
the country at peace, the earl of Rivers, having 
conceived a passion for warlike scenes, repaired 
to the Castilian court, to keep his arms in exer- 
cise in a campaign against the Moors. He 



256 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

brought with him a hundred archers, all dexter- 
ous with the long-bow and the cloth-yard arrow ; 
also two hundred yeomen, armed cap-a-pie, who 
fought with pike and battle-axe — men robust of 
frame, and of prodigious strength. The worthy 
padre Fray Antonio Agapida describes this stran- 
ger, knight and his followers with his accustomed 
accuracy and minuteness. 

" This cavalier," he observes, " was from the 
far island of England, and brought with him a 
train of his vassals ; men who had been hard- 
ened in certain civil wars which raged in their 
country. They were a comely race of men, but 
too fair and fresh for warriors, not having the 
sunburnt, warlike hue of our old Castilian sol- 
diery. They were huge feeders also, and deep 
carousers, and could not accommodate themselves 
to the sober diet of our troops, but must fain eat 
aud drink after the manner of their own country. 
They were often noisy and unruly, also, in their 
wassail ; and their quarter of the camp was prone 
to be a scene of loud revel and sudden brawl. 
They were, withal, of great pride, yet it was not 
like our inflammable Spanish pride : they stood 
not much upon the pundonor, the high punctilio, 
and rarely drew the stiletto in their disputes ; but 
their pride was silent and contumelious. Though 
from a remote and somewhat barbarous island, 
they believed themselves the most perfect men 
upon earth, and magnified their chieftain, the lord 
Scales, beyond the greatest of their grandees. 
With all this, it must be said of them that they 
were marvelous good men in the field, dexter- 



THE ENGLISH LORD SCALES. 257 

ous archers, and powerful with the battle-axe. 
In their great pride and self-will, they always 
sought to press in the advance and take the post 
of danger, trying to outvie our Spanish chivalry. 
They did not rush on fiercely to the fight, nor 
make a brilliant onset like the Moorish and 
Spanish troops, but they went into the fight de- 
liberately, and persisted obstinately, and were 
slow to find out when they were beaten. Withal 
they were much esteemed, yet little liked by our 
soldiery, who considered them stanch companions 
in the field, yet coveted but little fellowship with 
them in the camp. 

" Their commander, the lord Scales, was an 
accomplished cavalier, of gracious and noble pres- 
ence and fair speech ; it was a marvel to see 
so much courtesy in a knight brought up so far 
from our Castilian court. He was much honored 
by the king and queen, and found great favor 
with tb<j fair dames about the court, who indeed 
are rather prone to be pleased with foreign cava- 
liers. He went always in costly state, attended 
by pages and esquires, and accompanied by noble 
young cavaliers of his country, who had enrolled 
themselves under his banner, to learn the gentle 
exercise of arms. In all pageants and festivals, 
the eyes of the populace were attracted by the 
singular bearing and rich array of the English 
earl and his train, who prided themselves in al- 
ways appearing in the garb and manner of their 
country — and were indeed something very mag- 
nificent, delectable, and strange to behold." 

The worthy chronicler is no less elaborate in his 
17 



258 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

description of the masters of Santiago, Calatrava, 
and Alcantara, and their valiant knights, armed at 
all points, and decorated with the badges of their or- 
ders. These, he affirms, were the flower of Chris- 
tian chivalry ; being constantly in service, they 
became more steadfast and accomplished in dis- 
cipline than the irregular and temporary levies 
of the feudal nobles. Calm, solemn, and stately, 
they sat like towers upon their powerful chargers. 
On parades, they manifested none of the show 
and ostentation of the other troops : neither, in 
battle, did they endeavor to signalize themselves 
by any fiery vivacity, or desperate and vainglo- 
rious exploit — everything, with them, was meas- 
ured and sedate ; yet it was observed, that none 
were more warlike in their appearance in the 
camp, or more terrible for their achievements in 
the field. 

The gorgeous magnificence of the Spanish no- 
bles found but little favor in the eyes of the 
sovereigns. They saw that it caused a competi- 
tion in expense, ruinous to cavaliers of moderate 
fortune ; and they feared that a softness and ef- 
feminacy might thus be introduced, incompatible 
with the stern nature of the war. They signified 
their disapprobation to several of the principal 
noblemen, and recommended a more sober and 
soldierlike display while in actual service. 

a These are rare troops for a tourney, my lord, 1 * 
said Ferdinand to the duke of Infantado, as he 
beheld his retainers glittering in gold and embroid- 
ery ; " but gold, though gorgeous, is soft and 
yielding : iron is the metal for the field." 






CAMPAIGN AGAINST LOXA. 259 

" Sire," replied the duke, " if my men parade 
in gold, your majesty will find they fight with 
steel." The king smiled, but shook his head, and 
the duke treasured up his speech in his heart. 

It remains now to reveal the immediate object 
of this mighty and chivalrous preparation, which 
had, in fact, the gratification of a royal pique at 
bottom. The severe lesson which Ferdinand had 
received from the veteran Ali Atar, before the 
walls of Loxa, though it had been of great ser- 
vice in rendering him wary in his attacks upon 
fortified places, yet rankled sorely in his mind ; 
and he had ever since held Loxa in peculiar 
odium. It was, in truth, one of the most bellig- 
erent and troublesome cities on the borders, in- 
cessantly harrassing Andalusia by its incursions. 
It also intervened between the Christian territo- 
ries and Alhama, and other important places 
gained in the kingdom of Granada. For all 
these reasons King Ferdinand had determined to 
make another grand attempt upon this warrior 
city ; and for this purpose, had summoned to the 
field his most powerful chivalry. 

It was in the month of May, that the king sal- 
lied from Cordova, at the head of his army. He 
had twelve thousand cavalry and forty thousand 
foot-soldiers, armed with cross bows, lances, and 
arquebuses. There were six thousand pioneers, 
with hatchets, pickaxes, and crowbars, for level- 
ing roads. He took with him, also, a great train 
of lombards and other heavy artillery, with a body 
of Germans skilled in the service of ordnance, 
and the art of battering walls. 



260 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

It was a glorious spectacle (says Fray Antonio 
Agapida) to behold this pompous pageant issuing 
forth from Cordova, the pennons and devices 
of the proudest houses of Spain, with those of 
gallant stranger knights, fluttering above a sea of 
crests and plumes ; to see it slowly moving, with 
flash of helm, and cuirass, and buckler, across the 
ancient bridge, and reflected in the waters of the 
Guadalquivir, while the neigh of steed and blast 
of trumpet vibrated in the air, and resounded to the 
distant mountains. " But above all," concludes 
the good father, with his accustomed zeal, " it 
was triumphant to behold the standard of the 
faith everywhere displayed, and to reflect that 
this was no worldly-minded army, intent upon 
some temporal scheme of ambition or revenge ; 
but a Christian host, bound on a crusade to extir- 
pate the vile seed of Mahomet from the land, and 
to extend the pure dominion of the church.'' 





CHAPTER XXXVII. 

How fresh Commotions broke out in Granada, and how the 
People undertook to allay them. 

HILE perfect unity of object and har- 
mony of operation gave power to the 
Christian arms, the devoted kingdom of 
Granada continued a prey to internal feuds. 
The transient popularity of El Zagal had declined 
ever since the death of his brother, and the party 
of Boabdil was daily gaining strength ; the Al- 
baycin and the Alhambra were again arrayed 
against each other in deadly strife, and the streets 
of unhappy Granada were daily dyed in the 
blood of her children. In the midst of these 
dissensions, tidings arrived of the formidable 
army assembling at Cordova. The rival factions 
paused in their infatuated brawls, and were roused 
to a temporary sense of the common danger. They 
forthwith resorted to their old expedient of new- 
modeling their government, or rather of making 
and unmaking kings. The elevation of El Zagal 
to the throne had not produced the desired effect 
r-tr what then was to be done ? Recall Boabdil 
el Chico, and acknowledge him again as sove- 
reign ? While they were in a popular tumult of 
deliberation, Hamet Aben Zarrax, surnamed EJ 



262 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Santo, rose among them. This was the same 
wild, melancholy man, who had predicted the 
woes of Granada. ' He issued from one of the 
caverns of the adjacent height which overhangs 
the Darro, and has since been called the Holy 
Mountain. His appearance was more haggard 
than ever ; for the unheeded spirit of prophecy 
seemed to have turned inwardly, and preyed 
upon his vitals. " Beware, Moslems," ex- 
claimed he, " of men who are eager to govern, 
yet are unable to protect. Why slaughter each 
other for El Chico or El Zagal ? Let your 
kings renounce their contests, unite for the sal- 
vation of Granada, or let them be deposed." 

Hamet Aben Zarrax had long been revered as 
a saint — he was now considered an oracle. 
The old men and the nobles immediately con- 
sulted together, how the two rival kings might 
be brought to accord. They had tried most ex- 
pedients ; it was now determined to divide the 
kingdom between them ; giving Granada, Malaga, 
Velez Malaga, Aimer a, Almunecar, and their de- 
pendencies to El Zagal — and the residue to 
Boabdil el Chico. Among the cities granted to 
the latter, Loxa was particularly specified, with a 
condition that he should immediately take com- 
mand of it in person ; for the council thought 
the favor he enjoyed with the Castilian monarchs, 
might avert the threatened attack. 

El Zagal readily agreed to this arrangement ; 
he had been hastily elevated to the throne by an 
ebullition of the people, and might be as hastily 
cast down again. It secured him one half of a 






THE MOORISH KINGDOM DIVIDED. 263 

kingdom to which he had no hereditary right, and 
he trusted to force or fraud to gain the other half 
hereafter. The wily old monarch even sent a 
deputation to his nephew, making a merit of 
offering him cheerfully the half which he had 
thus been compelled to relinquish, and inviting 
him to enter into an amicable coalition for the 
good of the country. 

The heart of Boabdil shrank from all con- 
nection with a man who had sought his life, 
and whom he regarded as the murderer of 
his kindred. He accepted one half of the 
kingdom as an offer from the nation, not to be 
rejected by a prince who scarcely held possession 
of the ground he stood on. He asserted, never- 
theless, his absolute right to the whole, and only 
submitted to the partition out of anxiety for the 
present good of his people. He assembled his 
handful of adherents, and prepared to hasten to 
Loxa. As he mounted his horse to depart, 
Hamet Aben Zarrax stood suddenly before him. 
" Be true to thy country and thy faith, ,, cried 
he : " hold no further communication with these 
Christian dogs. Trust not the hollow-hearted 
friendship of the Castilian king; he is mining 
the earth beneath thy feet. Choose one of two 
things ; be a sovereign or a slave — thou canst 
not be both." 

Boabdil ruminated on these words ; he made 
many wise resolutions, but he was prone always 
to act from the impulse of the moment, and. was 
unfortunately given to temporize in his policy. 
He wrote to Ferdinand, informing him that Loxa 



264 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and certain other cities had returned to their alle- 
giance, and that he held them as vassal to the 
Castilian crown, according to their convention. 
He conjured him, therefore, to refrain from any 
meditated attack, offering free passage to the 
Spanish army to Malaga, or any other place 
under the dominion of his uncle. 1 

Ferdinand turned a deaf ear to the entreaty, 
and to all professions of friendship and vassalage. 
Boabdil was nothing to him, but as an instrument 
for stirring up the flames of civil war. He now 
insisted that he had entered into a hostile league 
with his uncle, and had consequently forfeited all 
claims to his indulgence ; and he prosecuted, with 
the greater earnestness, his campaign against the 
city of Loxa. 

" Thus," observes the worthy Fray Antonio 
Agapida, " thus did this most sagacious sovereign 
act upon the text in the eleventh chapter of the 
Evangelist St. Luke, that 'a kingdom divided 
against itself cannot stand.' He had induced these 
infidels to waste and destroy themselves by inter- 
nal dissensions, and finally cast forth the survivor ; 
while the Moorish monarchs, by their ruinous 
contests, made good the old Castilian proverb in 
cases of civil war, ' El vencido vencido, y el ven- 
cidor perdido,' (the conquered conquered, and the 
conqueror undone.)" 2 

i Zurita, lib. 20, c. 68. 2 Garibay, lib. 40, c. 38. 




CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

How King Ferdinand held a Council of War, at the Rock of 
the Lovers. 

HE royal army, on its march against 
Loxa, lay encamped, one pleasant even- 
§ ing in May, in a meadow on the banks 
of the river Yeguas, around the foot of a lofty 
cliff called the Rock of the Lovers. The quarters 
of each nobleman formed, as it were, a sepa- 
rate little encampment ; his stately pavilion, sur- 
mounted by his fluttering pennon, rising above 
the surrounding tents of his vassals and retainers. 
A little apart from the others, as it were in proud 
reserve, was the encampment of the English earl. 
It was sumptuous in its furniture, and complete 
in all its munitions. Archers, and soldiers armed 
with battle-axes, kept guard around it ; while 
above, the standard of England rolled out its 
ample folds, and flapped in the evening breeze. 

The mingled sounds of various tongues and 
nations were heard from the soldiery, as they 
watered their horses in the stream, or busied 
themselves round the fires which began to glow, 
here and there, in the twilight : the gay chanson 
of the Frenchman, singing of his amours on the 
pleasant banks of the Loire, or the sunny regions 



266 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

of the Garonne ; the broad guttural tones of the 
German, chanting some doughty hrieger lied, or 
extolling the vintage of the Rhine ; the wild 
romance of the Spaniard, reciting the achievements 
of the Cid, and many a famous passage of the 
Moorish wars ; and the long and melancholy ditty 
of the Englishman, treating of some feudal hero 
or redoubtable outlaw of his distant island. 

On a rising ground, commanding a view of the 
whole encampment, stood the ample and magnifi- 
cent pavilion of the king, with the banner of 
Castile and Aragon, and the holy standard of the 
cross, erected before it. In this tent were as- 
sembled the principal commanders of the army, 
having been summoned by Ferdinand to a council 
of war, on receiving tidings that Boabdil had 
thrown himself into Loxa with a considerable 
reinforcement. After some conclusion, it was 
determined to invest Loxa on both sides : one 
part of the army should seize upon the dangerous 
but commanding height of Santo Albohacen, in 
front of the city ; while the remainder, making a 
circuit, should encamp on the opposite side. 

No sooner was this resolved upon, than the 
marques of Cadiz stood forth and claimed the 
post of danger in behalf of himself and those 
cavaliers, his companions in arms, who had been 
compelled to relinquish it by the general retreat 
of the army on the former siege. The enemy 
had exulted over them, as if driven from it in dis- 
grace. To regain that perilous height, to pitch 
their tents upon it, and to avenge the blood of 
their valiant compeer, the master of Calatrava, 



THE HEIGHT OF ALBOHACEN. 267 

who had fallen upon it, was due to their fame ; 
the marques demanded, therefore, that they might 
lead the advance and secure that height, engaging 
to hold the enemy employed until the main army 
should take its position on the opposite side of 
the city. 

King Ferdinand readily granted his permission ; 
upon which the count de Cabra entreated to be 
admitted to a share of the enterprise. He had 
always been accustomed to serve in the advance ; 
and now that Boabdil was in the field, and a king 
was to be taken, he could not content himself 
with remaining in the rear. Ferdinand yielded 
his consent, for he was disposed to give the good 
count every opportunity to retrieve his late dis- 
aster. 

The English earl, when he heard there was an 
enterprise of danger in question, was hot to be 
admitted to the party ; but the king restrained his 
ardor. "These cavaliers,'' said he, "conceive 
that they have an account to settle with their 
pride ; let them have the enterprise to themselves, 
my lord ; if you follow these Moorish wars long, 
you will find no lack of perilous service." 

The marques of Cadiz, and his companions in 
arms, struck their tents before daybreak ; they 
were five thousand horse and twelve thousand 
foot, and marched rapidly along the defiles of the 
mountains ; the cavaliers being anxious to strike 
the blow, and get possession of the height of 
Albohacen, before the king with the main army 
should arrive to their assistance. 

The city of Loxa stands on a high hill, between 



268 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

two mountains, on the banks of the Xenil. To 
attain the height of Albohacen, the troops had to 
pass over a tract of rugged and broken country, 
and a deep valley, intersected by those canals and 
watercourses with which the Moors irrigated their 
lands : they were extremely embarrassed in this 
part of their march, and in imminent risk of 
being cut up in detail before they could reach the 
height. 

The count de Cabra, with his usual eagerness, , 
endeavored to push across this valley, in defiance 
of every obstacle ; he, in consequence, soon be- 
came entangled with his cavalry among the ca- 
nals ; but his impatience would not permit him to 
retrace his steps, and choose a more practicable 
but circuitous route. Others slowly crossed 
another part of the valley, by the aid of pontoons ; 
while the marques of Cadiz, Don Alonzo de 
Aguilar, and the count de Urena, being more ex- 
perienced in the ground from their former cam- 
paign, made a circuit round the bottom of the 
height, and, winding up it, began to display their 
squadrons and elevate their banners on the re- 
doubtable post, which, in their former siege, they 
had been compelled so reluctantly to abandon. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

How the Royal Army appeared before the City of Loxa, and 
how it was received; and of the Doughty Achievements of 
the English Earl. 




HE advance of the Christian 
Loxa, threw the wavering 
Chico into one of his usual 



army upon 
Boabdil el 
dilemmas ; 

and he was greatly perplexed between his oath 
of allegiance to the Spanish sovereigns, and his 
sense of duty to his subjects. His doubts were 
determined by the sight of the enemy glittering 
upon the height of Albohacen, and by the clamors 
of the people to be led forth to battle. u Allah ! " 
exclaimed he, " thou knowest my heart : thou 
knowest I have been true in my faith to this 
Christian monarch. I have offered to hold Loxa 
as his vassal, but he has preferred to approach it 
as an enemy — on his head be the infraction of 
our treaty ! " 

Boabdil was not wanting in courage ; he only 
needed decision. When he had once made up 
his mind, he acted vigorously ; the misfortune was, 
he either did not make it up at all, or he made it 
up too late. He who decides tardily generally 
acts rashly, endeavoring to make up by hurry of 
action for slowness of deliberation. Boabdil 
hastily buckled on his armor, and sallied forth, 



270 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

surrounded by his guards, and at the head of five 
hundred horse and four thousand foot, the flower 
of his army. Some he detached to skirmish with 
the Christians, who were scattered and perplexed 
in the valley, and to prevent their concentrating 
their forces ; while, with his main body, he 
pressed forward to drive the enemy from the 
height of Aibohacen, before they had time to col- 
lect there in any number, or to fortify themselves 
in that important position. 

The worthy count de Cabra was yet entangled 
with his cavalry among the water-courses of the 
valley, when he heard the war-cries of the Moors, 
and saw r their army rushing over the bridge. He 
recognized Boabdil himself, by his splendid armor, 
the magnificent caparison of his steed, and the 
brilliant guard which surrounded him. The royal 
host swept on toward . the height of Aibohacen : 
an intervening hill hid it from his sight ; but 
loud shouts and cries, the din of drums and 
trumpets, and the reports of arquebuses, gave 
note that the battle had begun. 

Here was a royal prize in the field, and the 
count de Cabra unable to get into the action ! 
The good cavalier was in an agony of impa- 
tience ; every attempt to force his way across the 
valley only plunged him into new difficulties. 
At length, after many eager but ineffectual efforts,' 
he was obliged to order his troops to dismount, and 
slowly and carefully to lead their horses back, along 
slippery paths, and amid plashes of mire and water, 
where often there was scarce a foothold. The 
good count groaned in spirit, and sweat with mere 



BOABDIL IS WOUNDED. 271 

impatience as he went, fearing the battle might 
be fought, and the prize won or lost, before he 
could reach the field. Having at length toilfully 
unraveled the mazes of the valley, and arrived 
at firmer ground, he ordered his troops to mount, 
and led them full gallop to the height. Part of 
the good count's wishes were satisfied, but the 
dearest were disappointed : he came in season to 
partake of the very hottest of the fight, but the 
royal prize was no longer in the field. 

Boabdil had led on his men with impetuous 
valor, or rather with hurried rashness. Heed- 
lessly exposing himself in the front of the battle, 
he received two wounds in the very first encoun- 
ter. His guards rallied round him, defended him 
with matchless valor, and bore him, bleeding, out 
of the action. The count de Cabra arrived just 
in time to see the loyal squadron crossing the 
bridge, and slowly conveying their disabled mon- 
arch towards the gate of the city. 

The departure of Boabdil made no difference 
in the fury of the battle. A Moorish warrior, 
dark and terrible in aspect, mounted on a black 
charger and followed by a band of savage Go- 
meres, rushed forward to take the lead. It was 
Hamet el Zegri, the fierce alcayde of Ronda, with 
the remnant of his once redoubtable garrison. 
Animated by his example, the Moors renewed 
their assaults upon the height. It was bravely 
defended on one side by the marques of Cadiz, 
on another by Don Alonzo de Aguilar ; and as fast 
as the Moors ascended, they were driven back 
and dashed down the declivities. The count de 



272 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Urena took his stand upon the fatal spot where 
his brother had fallen ; his followers entered 
with zeal into the feelings of their commander, 
and heaps of the enemy sunk beneath theii 
weapons — sacrifices to the manes of the lamented 
master of Calatrava. 

The battle continued with incredible obstinacy. 
The Moors knew the importance of the height to 
the safety of the city ; the cavaliers felt their 
honors staked to maintain it. Fresh supplies of 
troops were poured out of the city ; some battled 
on the height, while some attacked the Christians 
who were still in the valley and among the or- 
chards and gardens, to prevent their uniting their 
forces. The troops in the valley were gradually 
driven back, and the whole host of the Moors 
swept around the height of Albohacen. The sit- 
uation of the marques de Cadiz and his compan- 
ions was perilous in the extreme : they were a 
mere handful ; and, while fighting hand to hand 
with the Moors who assailed the height, were 
galled from a distance by the cross-bows and ar- 
quebuses of a host that augmented each moment 
in number. At this critical juncture, King Fer- 
dinand emerged from the mountains with the 
main body of the army, and advanced to an em- 
inence commanding a full view of the field of 
action. By his side was the noble English cava- 
lier, the earl of Rivers. This was the first time 
he had witnessed a scene of Moorish warfare. 
He looked with eager interest at the chance- 
medley fight before him, where there was the 
wild career of cavalry, the irregular and tumult- 



THE ENGLISH CAVALIER. 273 

nous rush of infantry, and where Christian and 
Moor were intermingled in deadly struggle. The 
high blood of the English knight mounted at the 
sight, and his soul was stirred within him, by the 
confused war-cries, the clangor of drums and 
trumpets, and the reports of arquebuses. See- 
ing that the king was sending a reinforcement to 
the field, he entreated permission to mingle in the 
affray, and fight according to the fashion of his 
country. His request being granted, he alighted 
from his steed : he was merely armed en bianco, 
that is to say, with morion, back-piece, and breast- 
plate ; his sword was girded by his side, and in 
his hand he wielded a powerful battle-axe. He 
was followed by a body of his yeomen, armed in 
like manner, and by a band of archers with bows 
made of the tough English yew-tree- The earl 
turned to his troops, and addressed them briefly 
and bluntly, according to the manner of his coun- 
try. " Remember, my merry men all," said he, 
" the eyes of strangers are upon you ; you are in 
a foreign land, fighting for the glory of God, and 
the honor of merry old England ! " A loud 
shout was the reply. The earl waved his battle- 
axe over his head ; " St. George for England ! " 
cried he ; and to the inspiring sound of this old 
English war-cry, he and his followers rushed down 
to the battle with manly and courageous hearts. ^ 
They soon made their way into the midst of the 
enemy ; but when engaged in the hottest of the 
fight, they made no shouts nor outcries. They 
pressed steadily forward, dealing their blows to 

1 Cura de los Palacios. 
18 



274 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

right and left, hewing down the Moors, and cutting 
their way, with their battle-axes, like woodmen 
in a forest ; while the archers, pressing into the 
opening they had made, plied their bows vigor- 
ously, and spread death on every side. 

When the Castilian mountaineers beheld the 
valor of the English yeomanry, they would not 
be outdone in hardihood. They could not vie 
with them in weight or bulk, but for vigor and 
activity they were surpassed by none. They 
kept pace with them, therefore, with equal heart 
and rival prowess, and gave a brave support to 
the stout Englishmen. 

The Moors were confounded by the fury of these 
assaults, and disheartened by the loss of Hamet 
el Zegri, who was carried wounded from the field. 
They gradually fell back upon the bridge ; the 
Christians followed up their advantage, and drove 
them over it tumultuously. The Moors retreated 
into the suburb ; and Lord Rivers and his troops 
entered with them pell-mell, fighting in the streets 
and in the houses. King Ferdinand came up 
to the scene of action with his royal guard, and 
the infidels were driven within the city walls. 
Thus were the suburbs gained by the hardihood 
of the English lord, without such an event hav- 
ing been premeditated. 1 

The earl of Rivers, notwithstanding he had 
received a wound, still urged forward in the at- 
tack. He penetrated almost to the city gate, in 
defiance of a shower of missiles that slew many 
of his followers. A stone, hurled from the bat- 
1 Cura de los Palacios, MS. 



LOXA INVESTED. 275 

tlements, checked his impetuous career : it struck 
him in the face, dashed out two of his front-teeth, 
and laid him senseless on the earth. He was re- 
moved to a short distance by his men ; but, recov- 
ering his senses, refused to permit himself to be 
taken from the suburb. 

When the contest was over, the streets pre- 
sented a piteous spectacle — so many of their 
inhabitants had died in the defense of their 
thresholds, or been slaughtered without resistance. 
Among the victims was a poor weaver, who had 
been at work in his dwelling at this turbulent 
moment. His wife urged him to fly into the city. 
" Why should I fly ? " said the Moor — " to be 
reserved for hunger and slavery ? I tell you, 
wife, I will await the foe here ; for better is it to 
die quickly by the steel, than to perish piecemeal 
in chains and dungeons." He said no more, but 
resumed his occupation of weaving ; and, in the 
indiscriminate fury of the assault, was slaughtered 
at his loom. 1 

The Christians remained masters of the field, 
and proceeded to pitch three encampments for the 
prosecution of the siege. The king, with the 
great body of the army, took a position on the 
side of the city next to Granada : the marques 
of Cadiz and his brave companions once more 
pitched their tents upon the height of Sancto 
Albohacen : but the English earl planted his 
standard sturdily within the suburbs he had 
taken. 

1 Pulgar, part 3, c. 58. 



CHAPTER XL. 



Conclusion of the Siege of Loxa. 




AVING possession of the heights of Al- 
bohacen and the suburb of the city, the 
Christians were enabled to choose the 
most favorable situations for their batteries. 
They immediately destroyed the stone bridge, by 
which the garrison had made its sallies ; and they 
threw two wooden bridges across the river, and 
others over the canals and streams, so as to es- 
tablish an easy communication between the differ- 
ent camps. 

When all was arranged, a heavy fire was 
opened upon the city from various points.- They 
threw not only balls of stone and iron, but great 
carcasses of fire, which burst like meteors on the 
houses, wrapping them instantly in a blaze. The 
walls were shattered, and the towers toppled 
down, by tremendous discharges from the lom- 
bards. Through the openings thus made, they 
could behold the interior of the city — houses 
tumbling or in flanes — men, women, and child- 
ren, flying in terror through the streets, and 
slaughtered by the shower of missiles, sent 
through the openings from smaller artillery, aud 
from cross-bows and arquebuses. 

The Moors attempted to repair the breaches^ 



CAPITULATION OF LOXA. 277 

but fresh discharges from the lombards buried 
them beneath the ruins of the walls they were 
mending. In their despair, many of the inhabit- 
ants rushed forth into the narrow streets of the 
suburbs, and assailed the Christians with darts, 
scimetars, and poniards, seeking to destroy rather 
than defend, and heedless of death, in the confi- 
dence that to die fighting with an unbeliever, was 
to be translated at once to paradise. 

For two nights and a day, this awful scene 
continued ; when certain of the principal inhabit- 
ants began to reflect upon the hopelessness of the 
conflict : their king was disabled, their principal 
captains were either killed or wounded, their for- 
tifications little better than heaps of ruins. They 
had urged the unfortunate Boabdil to the con- 
flict : they now clamored for a capitulation. A 
parley was procured from the Christian monarch, 
and the terms of surrender were soon adjusted. 
They were to yield up the city immediately, with 
all their Christian captives, and to sally forth 
with as much of their property as they could 
take with them. The marques of Cadiz, on 
whose honor and humanity they had great re- 
liance, was to escort them to Granada, to protect 
them from assault or robbery : such as chose to 
remain in Spain were to be permitted to reside in 
Castile, Aragon, or Valencia. As to Boabdil el 
Chico, he was to do homage as a vassal to King 
Ferdinand, but no charge was to be urged 
against him of having violated his former pledge. 
If he should yield up all pretensions to Granada, 
♦■he title of duke of Guadix was to be assigned. 



278 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

to him, and the territory thereto annexed, provi- 
ded it should be recovered from Ei Zagal within 
six months. 

The capitulation being arranged, they gave as 
hostages the alcayde of the city, and the principal 
officers, together with the sons of their late chief- 
tain, the veteran Ali Atar. The warriors of 
Loxa then issued forth, humbled and dejected at 
having to surrender those walls which they had 
so long maintained with valor and renown ; and 
the women and children filled the air with lam- 
entations, at being exiled from their native 
homes. 

Last came forth Boabdil, most truly called El 
Zogoybi, the unlucky. Accustomed, as he was, to 
be crowned and uncrowned, to be ransomed and 
treated as a matter of bargain, he had acceded of 
course to the capitulation. He was enfeebled by 
his wounds, and had an air of dejection ; yet it is 
said, his conscience acquitted him of a breach of 
faith towards the Castilian sovereigns, and the 
personal valor he had displayed had caused a 
sympathy for him among many of the Christian 
cavaliers. He knelt to Ferdinand according to 
the forms of vassalage, and then departed, in 
melancholy mood, for Priego, a town about three 
leagues distant. 

Ferdinand immediately ordered Loxa to be 
repaired, and strongly garrisoned. He was 
greatly elated at the capture of this place, in 
consequence of his former defeat before its walls. 
He passed great encomiums upon the commanders 
who had distinguished themselves ; and historians 



SPEECH OF THE ENGLISH EARL. 279 

dwell particularly upon his visit to the tent of 
the English earl. His majesty consoled him for 
the loss of his teeth, by the consideration that he 
might otherwise have lost them by natural decay ; 
whereas the lack of them would now be esteemed 
a beauty, rather than a defect, serving as a trophy 
of the glorious cause in which he had been en- 
gaged. 

The earl replied, that he gave thanks to God 
and to the holy Virgin, for being thus honored by 
a visit from the most potent king in Christen- 
dom ; that he accepted with all gratitude his gra- 
cious consolation for the loss of his teeth, though 
he held it little to lose two teeth in the service 
of God, who had given him all : " A speech, " 
says Fray Antonio Agapida, " full of most courtly 
wit and Christian piety ; and one only marvels 
that it should have been made by a native of an 
island so far distant from Castile." 




CHAPTER XLL 



Capture of IUora. 




ING FERDINAND followed up his 
victory at Loxa, by laying siege to the 
strong town of Illora. This redoubt- 
able fortress was perched upon a high rock, in 
the midst of a spacious valley. It was within 
four leagues of the Moorish capital ; and its 
lofty castle, keeping vigilant watch over a wide 
circuit of country, was termed the right eye of 
Granada. 

The alcayde of Illora was one of the bravest 
of the Moorish commanders, and made every 
preparation to defend his fortress to the last 
extremity. He sent the women and children, 
the aged and infirm, to the metropolis. He 
placed barricades in the suburbs, opened doors of 
communication from house to house, and pierced 
their walls with loop-holes for the discharge of 
crossbows, arquebuses, and other missiles. 

King Ferdinand arrived before the place, with 
all his forces ; he stationed himself upon the 
hill of Encinilla, and distributed the other en- 
campments in various situations, so as to invest 
the fortress. Knowing the valiant character of 
the alcayde, and the desperate courage of the 






CAPTURE OF ILLORA. 281 

Moors, he ordered the encampments to be forti- 
fied with trenches and palisadoes, the guards to 
be doubled, and sentinels to be placed in all the 
watch-towers of the adjacent heights. 

When all was ready, the duke del Infantado 
demanded the attack ; it was his first campaign, 
and he was anxious to disprove the royal insinu- 
ation made against the hardihood of his embroid- 
ered chivalry. King Ferdinand granted hi3 
demand, with a becoming compliment to his 
spirit ; he ordered the count de Cabra to make a 
simultaneous attack upon a different quarter. 
Both chiefs led forth their troops ; — those of 
the duke in fresh and brilliant armor, richly 
ornamented, and as yet uninjured by the service 
of the field ; those of the count were weather- 
beaten veterans, whose armor was dented and 
hacked in many a hard-fought baitle. The 
youthful duke blushed at the contrast. " Cav- 
aliers," cried he, * we have been reproached 
with the finery of our array : let us prove that 
a trenchant blade may rest in a gilded sheath. 
Forward ! to the foe ! and I trust in God, that 
as we enter this affray knights well accoutred, so 
we shall leave it cavaliers well proved." His 
men responded by eager acclamations, and the 
duke led them forward to the assault. He ad- 
vanced under a tremendous shower of stones, 
darts, balls, and arrows; but nothing could check 
his career ; he entered the suburb sword in hand ; 
his men fought furiously, though with great loss, 
for every dwelling had been turned into a for- 
tress. After a severe conflict, they succeeded ir 



282 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

driving the Moors into the town, about the same 
time that the other suburb was carried by the 
count de Cabra and his veterans. 

The troops of the duke del Infantado came 
out of the contest thinned in number, and cov- 
ered with blood, and dust, and wounds ; they 
received the highest encomiums of the king, and 
there was never afterwards any sneer at their 
embroidery. 

The suburbs being taken, three batteries, each 
furnished with eight huge lombards, were opened 
upon the fortress. The damage and havoc were 
tremendous, for the fortifications had not been 
constructed to withstand such engines. The 
towers were overthrown, the walls battered to 
pieces ; the interior of the place was all exposed, 
houses were demolished, and many people slain. 
The Moors were terrified by the tumbling ruins, 
and the tremendous din. The alcayde had re- 
solved to defend the place until the last extrem- 
ity ; he beheld it a heap of rubbish ; there was 
no prospect of aid from Granada ; his people had 
lost all spirit to fight, and were vociferous for a 
surrender ; with a reluctant heart, he capitulated. 
The inhabitants were permitted to depart with 
all their effects, excepting their arms ; and were 
escorted in safety by the duke del Infantado and 
the count de Cabra, to the bridge of Pinos, with- 
in two leagues of Granada. 

King Ferdinand gave directions to repair the 
fortifications of Illora, and to place it in a strong 
state of defense. He left, as alcayde of the 
town and fortress, Gonsalvo de Cordova, younger 



G ON SALVO DE CORDOVA. 



283 



brother of Don Alonzo de Aguilar. This gallant 
cavalier was captain of the royal guards of Fer- 
dinand and Isabella, and gave already proofs of 
that prowess which afterwards rendered him so 
renowned. 




CHAPTER XLIL 

Of the Arrival of Queen Isabella at the Camp before Moclin 
and of the Pleasant Sayings of the English Earl. 




HE war of Granada, however poets may 
embroider it with the flowers of their 
fancy, was certainly one of the sternest 
of those iron conflicts which have been celebrated 
under the name of holy wars. The worthy Fray 
Antonio Agapida dwells with unsated delight 
upon the succession of rugged mountain enter- 
prises, bloody battles, and merciless sackings and 
ravages, which characterized it ; yet we find him 
on one occasion pausing in the full career of vic- 
tory over the infidels, to detail a stately pageant 
of the Catholic sovereigns. 

Immediately on. the capture of Loxa, Ferdi- 
nand had written to Isabella, soliciting her pres- 
ence at the camp, that he might consult with her 
as to the disposition of their newly-acquired ter- 
ritories. 

It was in the early part of June, that the 
queen departed from Cordova, with the princess 
Isabella and numerous ladies of her court. She 
had a glorious attendance of cavaliers and pages, 
with many guards and domestics. There were 
forty mules for the use of the queen, the prin- 
cess, and their train. 



STATELY PROGRESS OF ISABELLA. 285 



of the Lovers, on the banks of the river Yeguas 
they beheld a splendid train of knights advancing 
to meet them. It was headed by that accom- 
plished cavalier the marques duke de Cadiz, 
accompanied by the adelantado of Andalusia. 
He had left the camp the day after the capture 
of Illora, and advanced thus far to receive the 
queen and escort her over the borders. The 
queen received the marques with distinguished 
honor ; for he was esteemed the mirror of 
chivalry. His actions in this war had become 
the theme of every tongue, and many hesitated 
not to compare him in prowess with the immortal 
Cid.l 

Thus gallantly attended, the queen entered the 
vanquished frontier of Granada ; journeying se- 
curely along the pleasant banks of the Xenel, so 
lately subject to the scourings of the Moors. 
She stopped at Loxa, where she administered aid 
and consolation to the wounded, distributing 
money among them for their support, according 
to their rank. 

The king, after the capture of Illora, had re- 
moved his camp before the fortress of Moclin, 
with an intention of besieging it. Thither the 
queen proceeded, still escorted through the moun- 
tain roads by the marques of Cadiz. As Isabella 
drew near to the camp, the duke del Infantado 
issued forth a league and a half to receive her, 
magnificently arrayed, and followed by all his 
chivalry in glorious attire. With him came the 
1 Cur a de los Palacios. 



286 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

standard of Seville, borne by the men-at-arms of 
that renowned city ; and the Prior of St. Juan, 
with his followers. They ranged themselves in 
order of battle, on the left of the road by which 
the queen was to pass. 

The worthy Agapida is loyally minute in his 
description of the state and grandeur of the 
Catholic sovereigns. The queen rode a chestnut 
mule, seated in a magnificent saddle-chair, deco- 
rated with silver gilt. The housings of the mule 
were of fine crimson cloth ; the borders embroid- 
ered with gold ; the reins and head-piece were 
of satin, curiously embossed with needlework of 
silk, and wrought with golden letters. The 
queen wore a brial or regal skirt of velvet, under 
which were others of brocade ; a scarlet mantle, 
ornamented in the Moresco fashion ; and a black 
hat, embroidered round the crown and brim. 

The infanta was likewise mounted on a chest- 
nut mule, richly caparisoned : she wore a brial 
or skirt of black brocade, and a black mantle or- 
namented like that of the queen. 

When the royal cavalcade passed by the chiv- 
alry of the duke del Infantado, which was drawn 
out in battle array, the queen made a reverence 
to the standard of Seville, and ordered it to pass 
to the right hand. When she approached the 
camp, the multitude ran forth to meet her, with 
great demonstrations of joy ; for she was univer- 
sally beloved by her subjects. All the battalions 
sallied forth in military array, bearing the various 
standards and banners of the camp, which were 
lowered in salutation as she passed. 



THE SOVEREIGNS AND THE EARL. 287 

The king now came forth in royal state, 
mounted on a superb chestnut horse, and at- 
tended by many grandees of Castile. He wore 
a jubon or close vest of crimson cloth, with 
cuisses or short skirts of yellow satin, a loose 
cassock of brocade, a rich Moorish scimetar, and 
a hat with plumes. The grandees who attended 
him were arrayed with wonderful magnificence, 
each according to his taste and invention. 

These high and mighty princes (says Antonio 
Agapida) regarded each other with great defer- 
ence, as allied sovereigns, rather than with con- 
nubial familiarity, as mere husband and wife. 
When they approached each other, therefore, be- 
fore embracing, they made three profound rever- 
ences, the queen taking off her hat, and remain- 
ing in a silk net or cawl, with her face uncovered. 
The king then approached and embraced her, and 
kissed her respectfully on the cheek. He also 
embraced his daughter the princess ; and, making 
the sign of the cross, he blessed her, and kissed 
her on the lips. 1 

The good Agapida seems scarcely to have been 
more struck with the appearance of the sovereigns 
than with that of the English earl. He followed 
(says he) immediately after the king, with great 
pomp, and, in an extraordinary manner, taking 
precedence of all the rest. He was mounted " a 
la guisa" or with long stirrups, on a superb 
chestnut horse, with trappings of azure silk which 
reached to the ground. The housings were of 
mulberry, powdered with stars of gold. He was 

1 Cura de los Palacios. 



288 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

armed in proof, and wore over his armor a short 
French mantle of black brocade ; he had a white 
French hat with plumes, and carried on his left 
arm a small round buckler, banded with gold. 
Five pages attended him, appareled in silk and 
brocade, and mounted on horses sumptuously 
caparisoned ; he had also a train of followers, 
bravely attired after the fashion of his country. 

He advanced in a chivalrous and courteous 
manner, making his reverences first to the queen 
and infanta, and afterwards to the king. Queen 
Isabella received him graciously, complimenting 
him on his courageous conduct at Loxa, and con- 
doling with him on the loss of his teeth. The 
earl, however, made light of his disfiguring wound, 
saying that " our blessed Lord, who had built all 
that house, had opened a window there, that he 
might see more readily what passed within ; " l 
whereupon the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida is 
more than ever astonished at the pregnant wit of 
this island cavalier. The earl continued some 
little distance by th<* side of the royal family, 
complimenting them all with courteous speeches, 
his horse curveting and caracoling, but being 
managed with great grace and dexterity ; leaving 
the grandees and the people at large not more 
filled with admiration at the strangeness and 
magnificence of his state than at the excellence 
of his horsemanship. 2 

To testify her sense of the gallantry and ser- 
vices of this noble English knight, who had come 
from so far to assist in their wars, the queen sent 

1 Pietro Martyr, Epist. 61. 2 Cura de los Palacios. 



DEATH OF THE ENGLISH EARL 289 

him the next day presents of twelve horses, with 
stately tents, fine linen, two beds with coverings 
of gold brocade, and many other articles of great 
value. 

Having refreshed himself, as it were, with the 
description of this progress of Queen Isabella to 
the camp, and the glorious pomp of the Catholic 
sovereigns, the worthy Antonio Agapida returns 
with renewed relish to his pious work of discom- 
fiting the Moors. 

The description of this royal pageant, and the 
particulars concerning the English earl, thus 
given from the manuscript of Fray Antonio Aga- 
pida, agree precisely with the chronicle of Andres 
Bernaldes, the curate of los Palacios. The Eng- 
lish earl makes no further figure in this war. It 
appears from various histories that he returned in 
the course of the year to England. In the fol- 
lowing year his passion for fighting took him to 
the Continent, at the head of four hundred adven- 
turers, in aid of Francis, duke of Brittany, against 
Louis XL of France. He was killed in the 
same year [1488] in the battle of St. Al ban's, 
between the Bretons and the French. 

19 



(Mo 





CHAPTER XLTII. 

How King Ferdinand attacked Moclin, and of the Strang* 
Events that attended its Capture. 

HE Catholic sovereigns," says Fray 
Antonio Agapida, " had by this time 
closely clipped the right wing of the 
Moorish vulture." In other words, most of the 
strong fortresses along the western frontier of 
Granada had fallen beneath the Christian artil- 
lery. The army now lay encamped before the 
town of Moclin, on the frontier of Jaen, one of 
the most stubborn fortresses of the border. It 
stood on a high, rocky hill, the base of which 
was nearly girdled by a river : a thick forest pro- 
tected the back part of the town, towards the 
mountain. Thus strongly situated, it domineered, 
with its frowning battlements and massive towers, 
all the mountain passes into that part of the 
country, and was called " the shield of Granada." 
It had a double arrear of blood to settle with the 
Christians; two hundred years before, a master 
of Santiago and all his cavaliers had been lanced 
by the Moors before its gates. It had recently 
made terrible slaughter among the troops of the 
good count de Cabra, in his precipitate attempt 
to entrap the old Moorish monarch. The pride 
of Ferdinand had been piqued by being obliged 



FERDINAND'S ATTACK ON MOCLTN. 291 

on that occasion to recede from his plan, and 
abandon his concerted attack on the place ; he 
was now prepared to take a full revenge. 

El Zagal, the old warrior king of Granada, 
anticipating a second attempt, had provided the 
place with ample ammunitions and provisions ; 
had ordered trenches to be digged, and additional 
bulwarks thrown up ; and caused all the old men, 
the women, and the children to be removed to 
the capital. 

Such was the strength of the fortress, and the 
difficulties of its position, that Ferdinand antici- 
pated much trouble in reducing it, and made every 
preparation for a regular siege. In the centre of 
his camp were two great mounds, one of sacks of 
flour, the other of grain, which were called the 
royal granary. Three batteries of heavy ord- 
nance were opened against the citadel and princi- 
pal towers, while smaller artillery, engines for the 
discharge of missiles, arquebuses, and cross-bows 
were distributed in various places, to keep up a 
fire into any breaches that might be made, and 
upon those of the garrison who should appear on 
the battlements. 

The lom bards soon made an impression on the 
works, demolishing a part of the wall, and tu ni- 
bbling down several of those haughty towers, 
which from their height had been impregnable 
before the invention of gunpowder. The Moors 
repaired their walls as well as they were able, 
and, still confiding in the strength of their situa- 
tion, kept up a resolute defense, firing down from 
their lofty battlements and towers upon the 



292 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Christian camp. For two nights and a day an 
incessant fire was kept up, so that there was not 
a moment in which the roaring of ordnance was 
not heard, or some damage sustained by the 
Christians or the Moors. It was a conflict, how- 
ever, more of engineers and artillerists than of 
gallant cavaliers ; there was no sally of troops, 
nor shock of armed men, nor rush and charge of 
cavalry. The knights stood looking on with idle 
weapons, waiting until they should have an op- 
portunity of signalizing their prowess by scaling 
the walls or storming the breaches. As the 
place, however, was assailable only in one part, 
there was every prospect of a long and obstinate 
resistance. 

The engineers, as usual, discharged not merely 
balls of stone and iron, to demolish the walls, but 
flaming balls of inextinguishable combustibles, 
designed to set fire to the houses. One of these, 
which passed high through the air like a meteor, 
sending out sparks and crackling as it went, 
entered the window of a tower which was used 
as a magazine of gunpowder. The tower blew 
up with a tremendous explosion ; the Moors who 
were upon its battlements were hurled into the 
air, and fell mangled in various parts of the town ; 
and the houses in its vicinity were rent and over- 
thrown as with an earthquake. 

The Moors, who had never witnessed an ex- 
plosion of the kind, ascribed the destruction of 
the tower to a miracle. Some who had seen the 
descent of the flaming ball, imagined that fire had 
fallen from heaven to punish them for their 



THE CATHOLIC ARMY AT MOCLIN. 203 

pertinacity. The pious Agapida, himself, believer 
that this fiery missive was conducted by divine 
agency to confound the infidels ; an opinion in 
which he is supported by other Catholic his- 
torians. 1 

Seeing heaven and earth as it were combined 
against them, the Moors lost all heart : they 
capitulated, and were permitted to depart with 
their effects, leaving behind all arms and munitions 
of war. 

The Catholic army (says Antonio Agapida) 
3ntered Moclin in solemn state, not as a licen- 
tious host, intent upon plunder and desolation, 
but as a band of Christian warriors, coming to 
purify and regenerate the land. The standard of 
the cross, that ensign of this holy crusade, was 
borne in the advance, followed by the other ban- 
ners of the army. Then came the king and 
queen, at the head of a vast number of armed 
cavaliers. They were accompanied by a band of 
priests and friars, with the choir of the royal 
chapel, chanting the canticle " Te Deum lauda- 
musP As they were moving through the streets' 
in this solemn manner, every sound hushed ex- 
cepting the anthem of the choir, they suddenly 
heard, issuing as it were from underground, a 
chorus of voices chanting in solemn response, 
" BfMedictum qui venit in nomine domini" 2 The 
procession paused in wonder. The sounds rose 
from Christian captives, and among them several 

1 Pulgar, Garibay, Lucio Marino Siculo, Cosas Memoral. de 
Hlspan. lib. 20. 

2 Marino Siculo. 



294 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

priests who were confined in subterraneous dun- 
geons. 

The heart of Isabella was greatly touched. 
She ordered the captives to be drawn forth from 
their cells, and was still more moved at beholding, 
by their wan, discolored, and emaciated appear 
ance, how much they had suffered. Their hair 
and beards were overgrown and shagged ; they 
were wasted by hunger, half naked, and in chains. 
She ordered that they should be clothed and 
cherished, and money furnished them to bear 
them to their homes. 1 

Several of the captives were brave cavaliers, 
who had been wounded and made prisoners, in 
the defeat of the count de Cabra by El Zagal, in 
the preceding year. There were also found other 
melancholy traces of that disastrous affair. On 
visiting the narrow pass where the defeat had 
taken place, the remains of several Christian 
warriors were found in thickets, or hidden behind 
rocks, or in the clefts of the mountains. These 
were some who had been struck from their horses, 
and wounded too severely to fly. They had 
crawled away from the scene of action, and con- 
cealed themselves to avoid falling into the hands 
of the enemy, and had thus perished miserably 
and alone. The remains of those of note were 
known by their armor and devices, and were 
mourned over by their companions who had 
Bhared the disasters of that day. 2 

The queen had these remains piously collected, 

llllecas, Hist. Pontlf. lib. 6, c. 20, § 1. 
2 Pulgar, part 3, cap. 61. 



PIOUS MINISTRATIONS OF ISABELLA. 295 

fts the relics of so many martyrs who had fallen 
in the cause of the faith. They were interred 
with great solemnity in the mosques of Moclin, 
which had been purified and consecrated to Chris- 
tian worship. " There," says Antonio Agapida, 
" rest the bones of those truly Catholic knights, 
in the holy ground which in a manner had been 
sanctified by their blood ; and all pilgrims passing 
through those mountains offer up prayers and 
masses for the repose of their souls." 

The queen remained for some time at Moclin, 
administering comfort to the wounded and the 
prisoners, bringing the newly acquired territory 
into order, and founding churches and monas- 
teries and other pious institutions. " While the 
king marched in front, laying waste the land of 
the Philistines," says the figurative Antonio Aga- 
pida, " Queen Isabella followed his traces as the 
binder follows the reaper, gathering and garnering 
the rich harvest that has fallen beneath his sickle. 
In this she was greatly assisted by the counsels 
of that cloud of bishops, friars, and other saintly 
men, which continually surrounded her, garnering 
the first fruits of this infidel land into the gra- 
naries of the church." Leaving her thus piously 
employed, the king pursued his career of con- 
quest, determined to lay waste the vega, and 
carry fire and sword to the very gates of Gra- 
nada. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

How King Ferdinand foraged the Vega; and of the Battle of 
the Bridge of Pinos, and the Fate of the two Moorish 
Brothers. 




IJULEY ABDALLAH EL ZAGAL had 

j) | been under a spell of ill fortune, ever 
since the suspicious death of the old king 
his brother. Success had deserted his standard ; 
and, with his fickle subjects, want of success was 
one of the greatest crimes in a sovereign. He 
found his popularity declining, and he lost all con- 
fidence in his people. The Christian army marched 
in open defiance through his territories and sat 
down deliberately before his fortresses ; yet he 
dared not lead forth his legions to oppose them, 
lest the inhabitants of the Albaycin, ever ripe 
for a revolt, should rise and shut the gates of 
Granada against his return. 

Every few days, some melancholy train entered 
the metropolis, the inhabitants of some captured 
town, bearing the few effects spared them, and 
weeping and bewailing the desolation of their 
homes. When the tidings arrived that Illora 
and Moclin had fallen, the people were seized 
with consternation. "The right eye of Granada 
is extinguished," exclaimed they ; " the shield of 
Granada is broken : what shall protect us from 
the inroad of the foe ? " When the survivors of 



'RO 



THE HEROIC MOORISH BROTHERS. 2 f J7 

the garrisons of those towns arrived, with down- 
cast looks, bearing the marks of battle, and des- 
titute of arms and standards, the populace reviled 
them in their wrath ; but they answered, " We 
fought as long as we had force to fight, or walls 
to shelter us ; but the Christians laid our town 
and battlements in ruins, and we looked in vain 
for aid from Granada." 

The alcaydes of Illora and Moclin were 
brothers ; they were alike in prowess, and the 
bravest among the Moorish cavaliers. They had 
been the most distinguished in those tilts and tour- 
neys which graced the happier days of Granada, 
and had distinguished themselves in the sterner 
conflicts of the field. Acclamation had always 
followed their banners, and they had long been 
the delight of the people. Yet now, when they 
returned after the capture of their fortresses, they 
were followed by the unsteady populace with ex- 
ecrations. The hearts of the alcaydes swelled 
with indignation ; they found the ingratitude of 
their countrymen still more intolerable than the 
hostility of the Christians. 

Tidings came, that the enemy was advancing 
with his triumphant legions, to lay waste the 
country about Granada. Still El Zagal did not 
dare to take the field. The two alcaydes of Il- 
lora and Moclin stood before him : " We have 
defended your fortresses," said they, " until we 
were almost buried under their ruins, and for 
our reward Ave receive scoifings and revilings ; 
give us, king, an opportunity where knightly 
valor may signalize itself, not shut up behind 



298 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

stone walls, but in the open conflict of the field. 
The enemy approaches to lay our country deso- 
late ; give us men to meet him in the advance, 
and let shame light upon our heads if we be 
found wanting in the battle ! " \ 

The two brothers were sent forth, with a large 
force of horse and foot ; El Zagal intended, 
should they be successful, to issue forth with his 
whole force, and by a decisive victory, repair the 
losses he had suffered. When the people saw 
the well-known standards of the brothers going 
forth to battle, there was a feeble shout ; but 
the alcaydes passed on with stern countenances, 
for they knew the same voices would* curse them 
were they to return unfortunate. They cast a 
farewell look at fair Granada, and upon the beau- 
tiful fields of their infancy, as if for these they 
were willing to lay down their lives, but not for 
an ungrateful people. 

The army of Ferdinand had arrived within 
two leagues of Granada, at the Bridge of Pinos, 
a pass famous in the wars of the Moors and 
Christians for many a bloody conflict. It was 
the pass by which the Castilian monarchs gen- 
erally made their inroads, and was capable of 
great defense, from the ruggedness of the country 
and the difficulty of the bridge. The king, with 
the main body of the army, had attained the 
brow of a hill, when they beheld the advance 
guard, under the marques of Cadiz and the mas- 
ter of Santiago, furiously attacked by the enemy, 
in the vicinity of the bridge. The Moors rushed 
to the assault with their usual shouts, but with 



FATE OF THE TWO BROTHERS. 299 

more than usual ferocity. There was a hard 
struggle at the bridge ; both parties knew the 
importance of that pass. 

The king particularly noted the prowess of 
two Moorish cavaliers, alike in arms and de- 
vices, and whom by their bearing and attendance 
he perceived to be commanders of the enemy. 
They were the two brothers, the alcaydes of li- 
bra and Moclin. Wherever they turned, they 
carried confusion and death into the ranks of the 
Christians ; but they fought with desperation, 
rather than valor. The count de Cabra, and his 
brother Don Martin de Cordova, pressed forward 
with eagerness against them ; but having ad- 
vanced too precipitately, were surrounded by 
the foe, and in imminent danger. A young 
Christian knight, seeing their peril, hastened with 
his followers to their relief. The king recog- 
nized him for Don Juan de Arragon, count of 
Ribargoza, his own nephew ; for he was illegiti- 
mate son of the duke of Villahermosa, illegiti- 
mate brother of King Ferdinand. The splendid 
armor of Don Juan, and the sumptuous capar- 
ison of his steed, rendered him a brilliant object 
of attack. He was assailed on all sides, and his 
superb steed slain under him ; yet still he fought 
valiantly, bearing for a time the brunt of the 
fight, and giving the exhausted forces of the 
count de Cabra time to recover breath. 

Seeing the peril of these troops and the gen- 
eral obstinacy of the fight, the king ordered the 
royal standard to be advanced and hastened, with 
all his forces, to the relief of the count de Cabra. 



300 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

At his approach, the enemy gave way, and re- 
treated towards the bridge. The two Moorish 
commanders endeavored to rally their troops, and 
animate them to defend this pass to the utmost : 
they used prayers, remonstrances, menaces — but 
almost in vain. They could only collect a scanty 
handful of cavaliers; with these they planted them- 
selves at the head of the bridge, and disputed it 
inch by inch. The fight was hot and obstinate, 
for but few could contend hand to hand, yet many 
discharged cross-bows and arquebuses from the 
banks. The river was covered with the floating 
bodies of the slain. The Moorish band of cavaliers 
was almost entirely cut to pieces ; the two brothers 
fell, covered with wounds, upon the bridge they 
had so resolutely defended. They had given up 
the battle for lost, but had determined not to re- 
turn alive to ungrateful Granada. 

When the people of the capital heard how de- 
votedly they had fallen, they lamented greatly 
their deaths, and extolled their memory : a col- 
umn was erected to their honor in the vicinity of 
the bridge, which long went by the name of " the 
Tomb of the Brothers." 

The army of Ferdinand now marched on, and 
established its camp in the vicinity of Granada. 
The worthy Agapida gives many triumphant de- 
tails of the ravages committed in the vega, which 
was again laid waste ; the grain, fruits, and other 
productions of the earth, destroyed — and that 
earthly paradise rendered a dreary desert. He 
narrates several fierce but ineffectual sallies and 
skirmishes of the Moors, in defense of their fa- 



MOORISH STRATAGEM. 301 

vorite plain ; among which, one deserves to be 
mentioned, as it records the achievements of one 
of the saintly heroes of this war. 

During one of the movements of the Christian 
army, near the walls of Granada, a battalion of 
fifteen hundred cavalry, and a large force of foot, 
had sallied from the city, and posted themselves 
near some gardens, which were surrounded by a 
canal, and traversed by ditches, for the purpose 
of irrigation. 

The Moors beheld the duke del Infantado pass 
by, with his two splendid battalions ; one of men- 
at-arms, the other of light cavalry, armed a la 
gineta. In company with him, but following as a 
rear-guard, was Don Garcia Osorio, the bellige- 
rent bishop of Jaen, attended by Francisco Bo- 
vadillo, the corregidor of his city, and followed 
by two squadrons of men-at-arms, from Jaen, An- 
duxar, Ubeda, aud Baeza. 1 The success of last 
year's campaign had given the good bishop an in- 
clination for warlike affairs, and he had once 
more buckled on his cuirass. 

The Moors were much given to stratagem in 
warfare. They looked wistfully at the magnifi- 
cent squadrons of the duke del Infantado ; but 
their martial discipline precluded all attack : the 
good bishop promised to be a more easy prey. 
Suffering the duke and his troops to pass unmo- 
lested, they approached the squadrons of the 
bishop, and, making a pretended attack, skir- 
mished slightly, and fled in apparent confusion. 
The bishop considered the day his own, and, 
1 Pulgar, part 3, cap. 62. 



302 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

seconded by his corregidor Bovadillo, followed with 
valorous precipitation. The Moors fled into the 
Huerta del Rey y or orchard of the king ; the 
troops of the bishop followed hotly after them. 

When the Moors perceived their pursuers fairly 
embarrassed among the intricacies of the garden, 
they turned fiercely upon them, while some of 
their number threw open the sluices of the Xenel. 
In an instant, the canal which encircled and the 
ditches which traversed the garden, were filled 
with water, and the valiant bishop and his follow- 
ers found themselves overwhelmed by a deluge. 1 
A scene of great confusion succeeded. Some of 
the men of Jaen, stoutest of heart and hand, 
fought with the Moors in the garden, while others 
struggled with the water, endeavoring to escape 
across the canal, in which attempt many horses 
were drowned. 

Fortunately, the duke del Infantado perceived 
the snare into which his companions had fallen, 
and dispatched his light cavalry to their assist- 
ance. The Moors were compelled to flight, and 
driven along the road of Elvira up to the gates 
of Granada. 1 Several Christian cavaliers per- 
ished in this affray ; the bishop himself escaped 
with difficulty, having slipped from his saddle in 
crossing the canal, but saving himself by holding 
on to the tail of his charger. This perilous 
achievement seems to have satisfied the good 
bishop's belligerent propensities. He retired on 
his laurels, (says Agapida,) to his city of Jaen ; 
where, in the fruition of all good things, he grad- 
1 Pulgar. 



THE SOVEREIGNS RETURN TO CORDOVA. 303 

ually waxed too corpulent for his corselet, which 
was hung up in the hall of his episcopal palace ; 
and we hear no more of his military deeds, 
throughout the residue of the holy war of Gra- 
nada. 1 

King Ferdinand having completed his ravage 
of the vega, and kept El Zagal shut up in his 
capital, conducted his army back through the pass 
of Lope to rejoin Queen Isabella at Moclin. The 
fortresses lately taken being well garrisoned and 
supplied, he gave the command of the frontier to 
his cousin, Don Fadrique de Toledo, afterwards 
so famous in the Netherlands as the duke of 
Alva. The campaign being thus completely 
crowned with success, the sovereigns returned in 
triumph to the city of Cordova, 

1 u Don Luis Osorio fue obispo de Jaen desde el afio de 
1483, y presidio in esta Iglesia hasta el de 1496 in que murio 
en Flandes, a donde fue acompanando a la princesa Dona 
Juana.esposa del archiduque Don Felipe." — Espana Sagrada % 
por Fr M. Risco. torn. 41, trat. 77, cap. 4. 



^ 



<# 




CHAPTER XLV. 

Attempt of El Zagal upon the Life of Boabdil, aod how the 
Latter was roused to Action. 

JO sooner did the last squadron of Chris- 
tian cavalry disappear behind the moun- 
tains of Elvira, and the note of its 
trumpets die away upon the ear, than the long- 
suppressed wrath of Muley El Zagal burst forth. 
He determined no longer to be half a king, reign- 
ing over a divided kingdom, in a divided capital ; 
but to exterminate, by any means, fair or foul, 
his nephew Boabdil and his faction. He turned 
furiously upon those whose factious conduct had 
deterred him from sallying upon the foe ; some 
he punished by confiscations, others by banish- 
ment, others by death. Once undisputed monarch 
of the entire kingdom, he trusted to his military 
skill to retrieve his fortunes, and drive the Chris- 
tians over the frontier. 

Boabdil, however, had again retired to Yelez 
el Blanco, on the confines of Murcia, where he 
could avail himself, in case of emergency, of any 
assistance or protection afforded him by the policy 
of Ferdinand. His defeat had blighted his 
reviving fortunes, for the people considered him 
as inevitably doomed to misfortune. Still, while 
he lived, El Zagal knew he would be a rallying 



EL Z AG ADS ATTEMPT ON BOABDIL. 305 

point for faction, and liable at any moment to 
be elevated into power by the capricious multi- 
tude. He had recourse, therefore, to the most 
perfidious means, to compass his destruction. He 
sent ambassadors to him, representing the neces- 
sity of concord for the salvation of the kingdom, 
and even offering to resign the title of king, and 
to become subject to his sway, on receiving some 
estate on which he could live in tranquil retire- 
ment. But while the ambassadors bore these 
words of peace, they were furnished with poi- 
soned herbs, which they were to administer secretly 
to Boabdil ; and if they failed in this attempt, 
they had pledged themselves to dispatch him 
openly, while engaged in conversation. They 
were instigated to this treason by promises of 
great reward, and by assurances from the alfaquis 
that Boabdil was an apostate, whose death would 
be acceptable to Heaven. 

The young monarch was secretly apprised of 
the concerted treason, and refused an audience to 
the ambassadors. He denounced his uncle as the 
murderer of his father and his kindred, and the 
usurper of his throne ; and vowed never to relent 
in hostility to him, until he should place his head 
on the walls of the Alhambra. 

Open war again broke out between the two 
monarchs, though feebly carried on, in conse- 
quence of their mutual embarrassments. Ferdi- 
nand again extended his assistance to Boabdil, 
ordering the commanders of his fortresses to aid 
him in ail enterprises against his uncle, and 

against such places as ^fused to acknowledge 
20 



306 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



him as king ; and Don Juan de Bonavides, who 
commanded in Lorca, even made inroads in his 
name, into the territories of Almeria, Baza, and 
Guadix, which owned allegiance to El Zagal. 

The unfortunate Boabdil had three great evils 
to contend with — the inconstancy of his subjects, 
the hostility of his uncle, and the friendship of 
Ferdinand. The last was by far the most bane- 
ful ; his fortunes withered under it. He was 
looked upon as the enemy of his faith and of his 
country. The cities shut their gates against 
him ; the people cursed him ; even the scanty 
band of cavaliers, who had hitherto followed his 
ill-starred banner, began to desert him ; for he 
had not wherewithal to reward, nor even to sup- 
port them. His spirits sank with his fortune, 
and he feared that in a little time he should not 
have a spot of earth whereon to plant his stan- 
dard, nor an adherent to rally under it. 

In the midst of his despondency, he received 
a message from his lion-hearted mother, the sul- 
tana Ayxa la Horra. It was brought by the 
steadfast adherent to their fortunes, Aben Co- 
mixa. " For shame," said she, u to linger tim- 
orously about the borders of your kingdom, when 
a usurper is seated in your capital. Why look 
abroad for perfidious aid, when you have loyal 
hearts beating true to you in Granada ? The 
Albaycin is ready to throw open its gates to re- 
ceive you. Strike home vigorously — a sudden 
blow may mend all, or make an end. A throne 
or a grave ! — for a king there is no honorable 
medium." 



EFFECT OF THE SULTANA'S APPEAL. 307 

Boabdil was of an undecided character, but 
there are circumstances which bring the most 
wavering to a decision, and when once resolved 
they are apt to act with a daring impulse, un- 
known to, steadier judgments. The message of 
the sultana roused him from a dream. Granada, 
beautiful Granada, with its stately Alhambra, its 
delicious gardens, its gushing and limpid fountains 
sparkling among groves of orange, citron, and 
myrtle, rose before him. " What have I done," 
exclaimed he, " that I should be an exile from 
this paradise of my forefathers — a wanderer and 
fugitive in my own kingdom, while a murderous 
usurper sits proudly upon my throne? Surely 
Allah will befriend the righteous cause ; one blow, 
and all may be my own." 

He summoned his scanty band of cavaliers. 
(i Who is ready to follow his monarch unto the 
death ?" said he : and every one laid his hand 
upon his scimetar. "Enough!" said he; "let 
each man arm himself and prepare his steed in 
secret, for an enterprise of toil and peril : if we 
succeed, our reward is empire." 




CHAPTER XLVI. 

How Boabdil returned secretly to Granada, and how he was 
received. — Second Embassy of Don Juan de Vera, and his 
Perils in the Alhambra. 




N the hand of God," exclaims an old 
Arabian chronicler, " is the destiny of 
princes ; he alone giveth empire. A 
Moorish horseman, mounted on a fleet Arabian 
steed, was one day traversing the mountains 
whidi extend between Granada and the frontier 
of Murcia. He galloped swiftly through the 
valleys, but paused and looked out cautiously 
from the summit of every height. A squadron 
of cavaliers followed warily at a distance. There 
were fifty lances. The richness of their armor 
and attire showed them to be warriors of noble 
rank, and their leader had a lofty and prince-like 
demeanor." The squadron thus described by the 
Arabian chronicler, was the Moorish king Boab- 
dil and his devoted followers. 

For two nights and a day they pursued their 
adventurous journey, avoiding all popular parts 
of the country, and choosing the most solitary 
passes of the mountains. They suffered severe 
hardships and fatigues, but suffered without a 
murmur : they were accustomed to rugged cam- 
paigning, and their steeds were of generous and 



BOABDWS SECRET RETURN. 309 

unyielding spirit. It was midnight, and all was 
dark and silent as they descended from the moun- 
tains, and approached the city of Granada, They 
passed along quietly under the shadow of its 
walls until they arrived near the gate of the Al- 
baycin. Here Boabdil ordered his followers to 
halt, and remain concealed. Taking but four or 
five with him, he advanced resolutely to the gate 
and knocked with the hilt of his scimetar. The 
guards demanded who sought to enter at that un- 
seasonable hour. " Your king ! " exclaimed Bo- 
abdil, " open the gate and admit him ! " 

The guards held forth a light, and recognized 
the person of the youthful monarch. They were 
struck with sudden awe, and threw open the 
gates ; and Boabdil and his followers entered un- 
molested. They galloped to the dwellings of the 
principal inhabitants of the Albaycin, thundering 
at their portals, and summoning them to rise and 
take arms for their rightful sovereign. The sum- 
mons was instantly obeyed : trumpets resoun- 
ded throughout the streets ; the gleam of torches 
and the flash of arms showed the Moors hurry- 
ing to their gathering-places ; by daybreak, the 
whole force of the Albaycin was rallied under the 
standard of Boabdil, and Aben Comixa was made 
alcayde of the fortress. Such was the success 
of this sudden and desperate act of the young 
monarch ; for we are assured by contemporary 
historians, that there had been no previous con- 
cert or arrangement. " As the guards opened 
the gates of the city to admit him," observes a 



3><) CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

pious chronicler, " so God opened the hearts of 
the Moors to receive him as their king." 1 

In the morning early, the tidings of this event 
roused El Zagal from his slumbers in the Alham- 
bra. The fiery old warrior assembled his guard 
in haste, and made his way sword in hand to the 
Albaycin, hoping to come upon his nephew by 
surprise. He was vigorously met by Boabdil 
and his adherents, and driven back into the quar- 
ter of the Alhambra. An encounter took place 
between the two kings, in the square before the 
principal mosque ; here they fought hand to hand 
with implacable fury, as though it had been 
agreed to decide their competition for the crown 
by single combat. In the tumult of this chance- 
medley affray, however, they were separated, and 
the party of El Zagal was ultimately driven from 
the square. 

The battle raged for some time in the streets 
and places of the city, but finding their powers 
of mischief cramped within such narrow limits, 
both parties sallied forth into the fields, and 
fought beneath the walls until evening. Many 
fell on both sides, and at night each party with- 
drew into its quarter, until the morning gave 
them light to renew the unnatural conflict. For 
several days, the two grand divisions of the city 
remained like hostile powers arrayed against 
each other. The party of the Alhambra was 
more numerous than that of the Albaycin, and 
contained most of the nobility and chivalry ; but 
the adherents of Boabdil were men hardened and 
1 Pulgar. 



CHRISTIAN AID TO BOABDIL. 311 

strengthened by labor, and habitually skilled in 
the exercise of arms. 

The Albaycin underwent a kind of siege by 
the forces of El Zagal ; they effected breaches in 
the walls, and made repeated attempts to carry it 
sword in hand, but were as often repulsed. The 
troops of Boabdil, on the other hand, made fre- 
quent sallies ; and in the conflicts which took 
place, the hatred of the combatants arose to such 
a pitch of fury, that no quarter was given on 
either side. 

Boabdil perceived the inferiority of his force ; 
he dreaded also that his adherents, being for the 
most part tradesmen and artisans, would become 
impatient of this interruption of their gainful oc- 
cupations, and disheartened by these continual 
scenes of carnage. He sent missives, therefore, 
in all haste, to Don Fadrique de Toledo, who 
commanded the Christian forces on the frontier, 
entreating his assistance. 

Don Fadrique had received instructions from 
the politic Ferdinand, to aid the youthful mon- 
arch in all his contests with his uncle. He ad- 
vanced with a body of troops near to Granada, 
The moment Boabdil discerned, from the towers 
of the Albaycin, the Christian banners and lances 
winding round the base of the mountain of 
Elvira, he sallied forth to meet them, escorted by 
a squadron of Abencerrages under Aben Comixa. 
El Zagal, who was equally on the alert, and ap- 
prised that the Christian troops came in aid of 
his nephew, likewise sallied forth and drew up 
his troops in battle array. Don Fadrique, wary 



312 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

lest some treachery should be intended, halted 
among some plantations of olives, retained Boab- 
dil by his side, and signified his wish that Aben 
Comixa would advance with his squadron and 
offer battle to the old king. The provocation 
was given, but El Zagal maintained his position. 
He threw out some light parties, however, which 
skirmished with the Abencerrages of Aben Com- 
ixa, after which he caused his trumpets to sound 
a recall, and retired into the city ; mortified, it is 
said, that the Christian cavaliers should witness 
these fratricidal discords between true believers. 

Don Fadrique, still distrustful, drew off to a 
distance, and encamped for the night near the 
bridge of Cabillas. 

Early in the morning, a Moorish cavalier with 
an escort approached the advance guard, and his 
trumpets sounded a parley. He craved an au- 
dience, as an envoy from El Zagal, and was ad- 
mitted to the tent of Don Fadrique. El Zagal 
had learnt that the Christian troops had come to 
aid his nephew, and now offered to enter into an 
alliance with them on terms still more advan- 
tageous than those of Boabdil. The wary Don 
Fadrique listened to the Moor with apparent 
complacency, but determined to send one of his 
most intrepid and discreet cavaliers, under the 
protection of a flag, to hold a conference with 
the old king within the very walls of the Alham- 
bra. The officer chosen for this important mis- 
sion was Don Juan de Vera, the same stanch 
and devout cavalier, who in times preceding the 
war had borne the message from the Castilian 



SECOND EMBASSY OF DE VERA. 313 

sovereigns, to old Muley Abul Hassan, demand- 
ing arrears of tribute. Don Juan was received 
with great ceremony by the king. No records 
remain of his diplomatic negotiations, but they 
extended into the night, and it being too late to 
return to camp, he was sumptuously lodged in an 
apartment of the Alhambra. In the morning, 
one of the courtiers about the palace, somewhat 
given to jest and raillery, invited Don Juan to a 
ceremony which some of the alfaquis were about 
to celebrate in the mosque of the palace. The 
religious punctilio of this most discreet cavalier 
immediately took umbrage at what he conceived 
a banter. " The servants of Queen Isabella of 
Castile," replied he stiffly and sternly, u who bear 
on their armor the cross of St. Jago, never enter 
the temples of Mahomet, but to level them to 
the earth, and trample on them." 

The Moslem courtier retired somewhat dis- 
concerted by this Catholic, but not very courteous 
reply, and reported it to a renegado of Antiquera. 
The latter, eager, like all renegadoes, to show 
devotion to his newly adopted creed, volunteered 
to return with the courtier and have a tilt of 
words with the testy diplomatist. They found 
Don Juan playing a game of chess with the al- 
cayde of the Alhambra, and took occasion to in- 
dulge in sportive comments on some of the mys- 
teries of the Christian religion. The ire of this 
devout knight and discreet ambassador began to 
kindle ; but he restrained it within the limits of 
lofty gravity. " You would do well," said he, 

to cease talking about what you do not under 



314 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

stand," This only provoked light attacks of the 
witlings ; until one of them dared to make some 
degrading and obscene comparison between the 
Blessed Virgin and Amina, the mother of Ma- 
homet. In an instant Don Juan sprang to his 
feet, dashed chess-board and chess-men aside, and 
drawing his sword, dealt, says the curate of los 
Palacios, such afermosa cachillada (such a hand- 
some slash) across the head of the blaspheming 
Moor, as felled him to the earth. The renegado, 
seeing his comrade fall, fled for his life, making 
the halls and galleries ring with his outcries. 
Guards, pages, and attendants rushed in, but Don 
Juan kept them at bay, until the appearance of 
the king restored order. On inquiring into the 
cause of the affray, he acted with propei discrim- 
ination. Don Juan was held sacred as an am- 
bassador, and the renegado was severely punished 
for having compromised the hospitality of the 
royal palace. 

The tumult in the Alhambra, however, soon 
caused a more dangerous tumult in the city. It 
was rumored that Christians had been introduced 
into the palace with some treasonable desigu. 
The populace caught up arms, and ascended in 
throngs to the gate of Justice, demanding the 
death of all Christian spies and those who had 
introduced them. This was no time to reason 
with an infuriate mob, when the noise of their 
clamors might bring the garrison of the Albaycin 
to back them. Nothing was left for El Zagal but 
to furnish Don Juan with a disguise, a swift 
horse, and an escort, and to let him out of the 



RETURN OF DE VERA. 315 

Alhambra by a private gate. It was a sore griev- 
ance to the stately cavalier to have to submit to 
these expedients, but there was no alternative. 
In Moorish disguise he passed through crowds 
that were clamoring for his head ; and once out 
of the gate of the city, gave reins to his horse, 
nor ceased spurring until he found himself safe 
under the banners of Don Fadrique. 

Thus ended the second embassy of Don Juan 
de Vera, less stately, but more perilous than the 
first. Don Fadrique extolled his prowess, what- 
ever he may have thought of his discretion ; and 
rewarded him with a superb horse, while at the 
same time he wrote a letter to El Za^al, thanking 
him for the courtesy and protection he had ob- 
served to his ambassador. Queen Isabella also 
was particularly delighted with the piety of Don 
Juan, and his promptness in vindicating the im- 
maculate character of the Blessed Virgin, and, 
beside conferring on him various honorable dis- 
tinctions, made him a royal present of three hun- 
hundred thousand maravadils. 1 

The report brought by this cavalier of affairs 
in Granada, together with the preceding skir- 
mishings between the Moorish factions before the 
walls, convinced Don Fadrique that there was 
no collusion between the monarchs ; on returning 
to his frontier post, therefore, he sent Boabdil a 
reinforcement of Christian foot-soldiers and arque- 
busiers, under Fenian Alvarez de Sotomayer, 

1 Alcantara, Hist. Granad. vol. 3, c. 17, apud De Harro Nch 
biliaric Genealogico, lib. 5, cap. 15. 



316 



CON QUE SI OF GRANADA. 



aleayde of Colomera. This was as a firebrand 
thrown in to light up anew the flames of war 
in the city, which remained raging between the 
the Moorish inhabitants for the space of fifty 
days. 




CHAPTER XLVII. 



How King Ferdinand laid siege to Yelez Malaga. 




ITHERTO, the events of this renowned 
war have been little else than a suc- 
cession of brilliant but brief exploits, 
such as sudden forays, wild skirmishes among the 
mountains, and the surprisals of castles, fortresses, 
and frontier towns. We approach now to more 
important and prolonged operations, in which 
ancient and mighty cities, the bulwarks of Gra- 
nada, were invested by powerful armies, subdued 
by slow and regular sieges, and thus the capital 
left naked and alone. 

The glorious triumphs of the Christian sover- 
eigns (says Fray Antonio Agapida) had resounded 
throughout the East, and filled all heathenesse 
with alarm. The Grand-Turk Bajazet II., and 
his deadly foe the grand soldan of Egypt, sus- 
pending for a time their bloody feuds, entered 
into a league to protect the religion of Mahomet 
and the kingdom of Granada from the hostilities 
of the Christians. It was concerted between 
them, that Bajazet should send a powerful armada 
against the island of Sicily, then appertaining to 
the Spanish crown, for the purpose of distracting 
the attention of the Castilian sovereigns ; while, 



318 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

at the same time, great bodies of troops should be 
poured into Granada, from the opposite coast of 
Africa. 

Ferdinand and Isabella received timely intelli- 
gence of these designs. They resolved at once 
to carry the war into the sea-board of Granada, 
to possess themselves of its ports, and thus, as it 
were, to bar the gates of the kingdom against all 
external aid. Malaga was to be the main object 
of attack : it was the principal sea-port of the 
kingdom, and almost necessary to its existence. 
It had long been the seat of opulent commerce, 
sending many ships to the coasts of Syria and 
Egypt. It was also the great channel of com- 
munication with Africa, through which were in- 
troduced supplies of money, troops, arms, and 
steeds, from Tunis, Tripoli, Fez, Tremezan, and 
other Barbary powers. It was emphatically 
called, therefore, u the hand and mouth of Gra- 
nada." Before laying siege to this redoubtable 
city, however, it was deemed necessary to secure 
the neighboring city of Velez Malaga and its 
dependent places, which might otherwise harass 
the besieging army. 

For this important campaign, the nobles of the 
kingdom were again summoned to take the field 
with their forces, in the spring of 1487. The 
menaced invasion of the infidel powers of the 
East, had awakened new ardor in the bosoms of 
all true Christian knights ; and so zealously did 
they respond to the summons of the sovereigns, 
that an army of twenty thousand cavalry and 
fifty thousand foot, the flower of Spanish warriors, 



FERDINAND'S DEPARTURE FOR MALAGA. 31^ 

led by the bravest of Spanish cavaliers, thronged 
the renowned city of Cordova, at the appointed 
time. 

On the night before this mighty host set forth 
upon its march, an earthquake shook the city. 
The inhabitants, awakened by the shaking of the 
walls and rocking of the towers, fled to the courts 
and squares, fearing to be overwhelmed by the 
ruins of their dwellings. The earthquake was 
most violent in the quarter of the royal residence, 
the site of the ancient palace of the Moorish 
kings. Many looked upon this as an omen of 
some impending evil ; but Fray Antonio Agapida, 
in that infallible spirit of divination which suc- 
ceeds an event, plainly reads in it a presage that 
the empire of the Moors was about to be shaken 
to its centre. 

It was on Saturday, the eve of the Sunday of 
Palms (says a worthy r*:jd loyal chronicler of the 
time), that the most Catholic monarch departed 
with his army, to render service to Heaven, and 
make war upon the Moors. 1 Heavy rains had 
swelled all the streams, and rendered the roads 
deep and difficult. The king, therefore, divided 
his host into two bodies. In one be put all the 
the artillery, guarded by a strong body of horse, 
and commanded by the master of Alcantara and 
Martin Alonzo, senior of Montemayor. This 
division was to proceed by the road through the 
valleys, where pasturage abounded for the oxen 
which drew the ordnance. 

The main body of the army was led by the 

1 Pulgar, Cronica de los Reyes Caiholicos. 



320 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

king in person. It was divided into numerous 
battalions, each commanded by some distinguished 
cavalier. The king took the rough and perilous 
road of the mountains, and few mountains are 
more rugged and difficult than those of Andalusia. 
The roads are mere mule-paths, straggling amidst 
rocks and along the verge of precipices, clam- 
bering vast craggy heights, or descending into 
frightful chasms and ravines, with scanty and 
uncertain foothold for either man or steed. Four 
thousand pioneers were sent in advance, under 
the alcayde de los Donceles, to conquer, in some 
degree, the asperities of the road. Some had 
pickaxes and crowbars to break the rocks, others 
had implements to construct bridges over the 
mountain torrents, while it was the duty of others 
to lay stepping-stones in the smaller streams. As 
the country was inhabited by fierce Moorish 
mountaineers, Don Diego de Castrillo was dis- 
patched, with a body of horse and foot, to take 
possession of the heights and passes. Notwith- 
standing every precaution, the royal army suffered 
excessively on its march. At one time there was 
no place to encamp, for five leagues of the most 
toilsome and mountainous country ; and many of 
the beasts of burden sank down, and perished on 
the road. 

It was with the greatest joy, therefore, that 
the royal army emerged from these stern and 
frightful defiles, and came to where they looked 
down upon the vega of Velez Malaga. The re- 
gion before them was one of the most delectable 
to the eye, that ever was ravaged by an army. 



VELEZ MALAGA. 321 

Sheltered from every rude blast by a screen of 
mountains, and sloping and expanding to the 
south, this lovely valley was quickened by the 
most generous sunshine, watered by the silver 
meanderings of the Velez, and refreshed by cool- 
ing breezes from the Mediterranean. The sloping 
hills were covered with vineyards and olive-trees ; 
the distant fields waved with grain, or were ver- 
dant with pasturage ; while round the city w T ere 
delightful gardens, the favorite retreats of the 
Moors, where their white pavilions gleamed 
among groves of oranges, citrons, and pomegran- 
ates, and were surmounted by stately palms — 
those plants of southern growth, bespeaking a 
generous climate and a cloudless sky. 

In the upper part of this delightful valley, the 
city of Velez Malaga reared its warrior battle- 
ments in stern contrast to the landscape. It was 
built on the declivity of a steep and insulated hill, 
and strongly fortified by walls and towers. The 
crest of the hill rose high above the town, into a 
mere crag, inaccessible on every other side, and 
crowned by a powerful castle, which domineered 
over the surrounding country. Two suburbs 
swept down into the valley, from the skirts of 
the town, and were defended by bulwarks and 
deep ditches. The vast ranges of gray moun- 
tains, often capped with clouds, which rose to the 
north, were inhabited by a hardy and warlike race, 
whose strong fortresses of Comares, Canillas, 
Competa, and Benamargosa, frowned down from 
cragged heights. 

When the Christian host arrived in sight of 
21 



322 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

this valley, a squadron was hovering on the 
smooth sea before it, displaying the banner of 
Castile. This was commanded by the count of 
Trevento, and consisted of four armed galleys, 
conveying a number of caravels, laden with sup- 
plies for the army. 

After surveying the ground, king Ferdinand 
encamped on the side of a mountain which ad- 
vanced close to the city, and was the last of a 
rugged sierra, or chain of heights, that extended 
quite to Granada. On the summit of this moun- 
tain, and overlooking the camp, was a Moorish 
town, powerfully fortified, called Bentomiz, con- 
sidered capable of yielding great assistance to 
Velez Malaga. Several of the generals remon- 
strated with the king for choosing a post so ex- 
posed to assaults from the mountaineers ; but he 
replied that he should thus cut off all communi- 
cation between Bentomiz and the city ; and that 
as to the danger, his soldiers must keep the more 
vigilant guard against surprise. 

King Ferdinand rode about, attended by sev- 
eral cavaliers and a small number of cuirassiers, 
appointing the various stations of the camp. 
Having directed a body of foot-soldiers to possess 
themselves, as an advanced guard, of an impor- 
tant height which overlooked the city, he retired 
to a tent to take refreshment. While at table, 
he was startled by a sudden uproar, and, looking 
forth, beheld his soldiers flying before a superior 
force of the enemy. The king had on no other 
armor but a cuirass ; seizing a lance, however, he 
6prang upon his horse and galloped to protect the 



IMMINENT PERIL OF TEE KING. 323 

fugitives, followed by his handful of knights and 
cuirassiers. When the soldiers saw the king 
hastening to their aid, they turned upon their 
pursuers. Ferdinand, in his eagerness, threw 
himself into the midst of the foe. One of his 
grooms was killed beside him ; but, before the 
Moor who slew him could escape, the king trans- 
fixed him with his lance. He then sought to 
draw his sword, which hung at his saddle-bow, 
but in vain. Never had he been exposed to 
such peril ; he was surrounded by the enemy, 
without a weapon wherewith to defend himself. 

In this moment of awful jeopardy, the mar- 
ques of Cadiz, the count de Cabra, the adelan- 
tado of Murcia, with two other cavaliers, named 
Garcilasso de la Vega and Diego de Atayde, 
came galloping to the scene of action, and, sur- 
rounding the king, made a rampart of their bodies 
against the assaults of the Moors. The horse of 
the marques was pierced by an arrow, and that 
worthy cavalier exposed to imminent danger ; 
but, with the aid of his valorous companions, he 
quickly put the enemy to flight, and pursued 
them, with slaughter, to the very gates of the 
city. 

When those loyal warriors returned from the 
pursuit, they remonstrated with the king for ex- 
posing his life in personal conflict, seeing that he 
had so many valiant captains whose business it 
was to fight. They reminded him that the life 
of a prince was the life of his people, and that 
many a brave army was lost by the loss of its 
commander. They entreated him, therefore, in 



324 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

future to protect them with the force of his mind 
in the cabinet, rather than of his arm in the 
field. 

Ferdinand acknowledged the wisdom of their 
advice, but declared that he could not see his 
people in peril without venturing his person to 
assist them, — a reply (say the old chroniclers) 
which delighted the whole army, inasmuch as 
they saw that he not only governed them as a 
good king, but protected them as a valiant cap- 
tain. He, however, was conscious of the extreme 
peril to which he had been exposed, and made a 
vow never again to venture into battle without 
having his sword girt to his side. 1 

When this achievement of the king was re- 
lated to Isabella, she trembled amidst her joy at 
his safety ; and afterwards, in memorial of the 
event, granted to Velez Malaga, as the arms of 
the city, the figure of the king on horseback, 
with a groom lying dead at his feet, and the 
Moors flying. 2 

The camp was formed, but the artillery was 
yet on the road, advancing with infinite labor, at 
the rate of merely a league a day ; for heavy 
rains had converted the streams of the valleys 
into raging torrents, and completely broken up 
the roads. In the mean time, king Ferdinand 
ordered an assault on the suburbs of the city. 
They were carried, after a sanguinary conflict of 
six hours, in which many Christian cavaliers were 

i Illescas, Hist. Pontif. lib. 6, c. 20. Vedmar, Elst. Velez 
Malaga. 
2 Ibid. 



SKIRMISHES BEFORE MALAGA. 325 

killed and wounded, and, among the latter, Don 
Alvaro of Portugal, son of the duke of Braganza. 
The suburbs were then fortified towards the city 
with trenches and palisades, and garrisoned by a 
chosen force, u^der Don Fadrique de Toledo. 
Other trenches were digged round the city, and 
from the suburbs to the royal camp, so as to cut 
off all communication with the surrounding coun- 

try. 

Bodies of troops were also sent to take pos- 
session of the mountain passes, by which the 
supplies for the army had to be brought. The 
mountains, however, were so steep and rugged, 
and so full of defiles and lurking-places, that the 
Moors could sally forth and retreat in perfect 
security ; frequently swooping down upon Chris- 
tian convoys, and bearing off both booty and 
prisoners to their strongholds. Sometimes the 
Moors would light fires at night, on the sides of 
the mountains, which would be answered by fires 
from the watch-towers and fortresses. By these 
signals they would concert assaults upon the 
Christian camp, which, in consequence, was 
obliged to be continually on the alert. 

King Ferdinand flattered himself that the 
manifestation of his force had struck sufficient 
terror into the city, and that by offers of clemency 
it might be induced to capitulate. He wrote a 
letter, therefore, to the commanders, promising, 
in case of immediate surrender, that all the in- 
habitants should be permitted to depart with their 
effects ; but threatening them with fire&nd sword 
if they persisted in defense. This letter was 



326 CONQUEST OF GRANADA 

dispatched by a cavalier named Carvajal, who, 
putting it on the end of a lance, reached it to 
the Moors on the walls of the city. Abul Cacim 
Vanegas, son of Reduan and alcayde of the for- 
tress, replied that the king was too noble and 
magnanimous to put such a threat in execution, 
and that he should not surrender, as he knew the 
artillery could not be brought to the camp, and 
he was promised succor by the king of Granada. 

At the same time that he received this reply, 
the king learned that at the strong town of Co- 
mares, about two leagues distant from the camp, 
a large number of warriors had assembled from 
the Axarquia, the same mountains in which the 
Christian cavaliers had been massacred in the 
beginning of the war, and that others were daily 
expected, for this rugged sierra was capable of 
furnishing fifteen thousand fighting men. 

King Ferdinand felt that his army, thus dis- 
jointed, and inclosed in an enemy's country, was 
in a perilous situation, and that the utmost dis- 
cipline and vigilance were necessary. He put 
the camp under the strictest regulations, forbid- 
ding all gaming, blasphemy, or brawl, and expel- 
ling all loose women and their attendant bully 
ruffians, the usual fomenters of riot and conten- 
tion among soldiery. He ordered that none 
should sally forth to skirmish without permission 
from their commanders ; that none should set fire 
to the woods on the neighboring mountains ; and 
that all word of security given to Moorish places 
or indivMuals should be inviolably observed 
These regulations were enforced by severe penal- 



PREPARATIONS FOR THE ATTACK. 327 

ties, and had such salutary effect that, though a 
vast host of various people was collected together, 
not an opprobrious epithet was heard, nor a 
weapon drawn in quarrel. 

In the mean time, the cloud of war continued 
to gather about the summits of the mountains, 
and multitudes of the fierce warriors of the 
sierra descended to the lower heights of Ben- 
tomiz, which overhung the camp, intending to 
force their way to the city. A detachment was 
sent against them, which, after sharp fighting, 
drove them to the higher cliffs, where it was im- 
possible to pursue them. 

Ten days had elapsed since the encampment of 
the army, yet still the artillery had not arrived. 
The lombards and other heavy ordnance were 
left in despair, at Antiquera ; the rest came groan- 
ing slowly through the narrow valleys, which 
were filled with long trains of artillery, and cars 
laden with munitions. At length part of the 
smaller ordnance arrived within half a league of 
the camp, and the Christians were animated with 
the hopes of soon being able to make a regulaf 
attack upon the fortifications of the city. 




CHAPTER XLVIIL 

How King Ferdinand and his Army were exposed to immi- 
nent Peril, before Velez Malaga. 

HTLE the standard of the cross waved 
on the hills before Velez Malaga, and 
every height and cliff bristled with 
hostile arms, the civil war between the factions 
of the Alhambra and the Albaycin, or rather 
between El Zagal and El Chico, continued to 
convulse the city of Granada. The tidings of 
the investment of Velez Malaga at length roused 
the attention of the old men and the alfaquis, 
whose heads were not heated by the daily broils, 
and they endeavored to arouse the people to a 
sense of their common danger. 

" Why," said they, " continue these brawls 
between brethren and kindred ? what battles are 
these, where even triumph is ignominious, and 
the victor blushes and conceals his scars? Be- 
hold the Christians ravaging the land won by the 
valor and blood of your forefathers ; dwelling in 
the houses they built, sitting under the trees they 
planted, while your brethren wander about, house- 
less and desolate. Do you wish to seek your 
real foe ? — he is encamped on the mountain of 
Bentomiz. Do you want a field for the display 
of your valor ? — you will find it before the walls 
of Velez Malaga." 



EL ZAGAL' 8 DILEMMA. 320 

When they had roused the spirit of the people, 
they made their way to the rival kings, and 
addressed them with like remonstrances. Hamet 
Aben Zarrax, the inspired santon, reproached El 
Zagal with his blind and senseless ambition : 
" You are striving to be king," said he, bitterly, 
" yet suffer the kingdom to be lost ! " 

El Zagal found himself in a perplexing dilem- 
ma. He had a double war to wage, — with the 
enemy without, and the enemy within. Should 
the Christians gain possession of the sea-coast, it 
would be ruinous to the kingdom ; should he 
leave Granada to oppose them, his vacant throne 
might be seized on by his nephew. He made a 
merit of necessity, and, pretending to yield to the 
remonstrances of the alfaquis, endeavored to com- 
promise with Boabdil. He expressed deep con- 
cern at the daily losses of the country, caused by 
the dissensions of the capital ; an opportunity 
now presented to retrieve all by a blow. The 
Christians had in a manner put themselves in a 
tomb between the mountains — nothing remained 
but to throw the earth upon them. He offered 
to resign the title of king, to submit to the gov- 
ernment of his nephew, and fight under his 
standard ; all he desired was to hasten to the 
relief of Velez Malaga, and to take full ven- 
geance on the Christians. 

Boabdil spurned his proposition, as the artifice 
of a hypocrite and a traitor. " How shall I trust 
a man," said he, " who has murdered my father 
and my kindred by treachery, and has repeatedly 
sought my own life, both by violence and 
stratagem ? " 



330 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

El Zagal boiled with rage and vexation — but 
there was no time to be lost. He was beset by 
tiie alfaquis and the nobles of his court ; the 
youthful cavaliers were hot for action, the com- 
mon people loud in their complaints that the rich- 
est cities were abandoned to the mercy of the 
enemy. The old warrior was naturally fond of 
fighting ; he saw also that to remain inactive 
would endanger both crown and kingdom, whereas 
a successful blow might secure his popularity in 
Granada. He had a much more powerful force 
than his nephew, having lately received reinforce- 
ments from Baza, Guadix, and Almeria ; he could 
march with a large force, therefore, to the relief 
of Velez Malaga, and yet leave a strong garrison 
in the Alhambra. He took his measures accord- 
ingly, and departed suddenly in the night, at the 
head of one thousand horse and twenty thousand 
foot, and urged his way rapidly by the most un- 
frequented roads, along the chain of mountains 
extending from Granada to the heights above 
Velez Malaga. 

The Christians were alarmed one evening by 
the sudden blazing of great fires on the moun- 
tains about the fortress of Bentomiz. By the ruddy 
light, they beheld the flash of weapons and the 
array of troops, and they heard the distant sound 
of Moorish drums and trumpets. The fires of 
Bentomiz were answered by fires on the towers 
of Velez Malaga. The shouts of " El Zagal ! 
El Zagal 1 " echoed along the cliffs, and re- 
sounded from the city ; and the Christians found 
that the old warrior king of Granada was on the 
mountain above their camp. 



EL ZAGAL REINFORCES BENTOMIZ. 331 

The spirits of the Moors were suddenly raised 
to a pitch of the greatest exultation, while the 
Christians were astonished to see this storm of 
war ready to burst upon their heads. The count 
de Cabra, with his accustomed eagerness when 
there was a king in the field, would fain have 
scaled the heights, and attacked El Zagal before 
he had time to form his camp ; but Ferdinand, 
more cool and wary, restrained him. To attack 
the height would be to abandon the siege. He 
ordered every one, therefore, to keep vigilant 
watch at his post and stand ready to defend it to 
the utmost, but on no account to sally forth and 
attack the enemy. 

All night the signal-fires kept blazing along the 
mountains, rousing and animating the whole coun- 
try. The morning sun rose over the lofty sum- 
mit of Bentomiz on a scene of martial splendor. 
As its^ rays glanced down the mountain, they 
lighted up the white tents of the Christian cava- 
liers, cresting its lower prominences, their pennons 
and ensigns fluttering in the morning breeze. 
The sumptuous pavilions of the king, with the 
holy standard of the cross and the royal banners 
of Castile and Arragon, dominated the encamp- 
ment. Beyond lay the city, its lofty castle and 
numerous towers glistening with arms, while 
above all, and just on the profile of the height, in 
the full blaze of the rising sun, were descried the 
tents of the Moor, his troops clustering about 
them, and his infidel banners floating against the 
Bky. Columns of smoke rose where the night- 
fires had blazed, and the clash of the Moorish 



332 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

cymbal, the bray of trumpet, and the neigh of 
steed, were faintly heard from the airy heights. 
So pure and transparent is the atmosphere in this 
region, that every object can be distinctly seen at 
a great distance ; and the Christians were able to 
behold the formidable hosts of foes gathering on 
the summits of the surrounding mountains. 

One of the first measures of the Moorish king 
was to detach a large force, under Reduan de 
Vanegas, alcayde of Granada, to fall upon the 
convoy of ordnance, which stretched, for a great 
distance, through the mountain defiles. Ferdi- 
nand had anticipated this attempt, and sent the 
commander of Leon, with a body of horse and 
foot, to reinforce the master of Alcantara. El 
Zagal, from his mountain height, beheld the de- 
tachment issue from the camp, and immediately 
recalled Beduan. The armies now remained 
quiet for a time, the Moor looking grimly down 
upon the Christian camp, like a tiger meditating 
a bound upon his prey. The Christians were in 
fearful jeopardy — a hostile city below them, a 
powerful army above them, and on every side 
mountains filled with implacable foes. 

After El Zagal had maturely considered the 
situation of the Christian camp, and informed 
himself of all the passes of the mountain, he 
conceived a plan to surprise the enemy,, which he 
flattered himself would insure their ruin, and 
perhaps the capture of King Ferdinand. He 
wrote a letter to the alcayde of the city, com- 
manding him, in the dead of the night, on a 
signal-fire being made from the mountain, to sally 



EL ZAGAVS STRATAGEM. 333 

forth with all his troops, and fall furiously upon 
the Christian camp. The king would, at the 
same time, rush down with his army from the 
mountain, and assail it on the opposite side, thus 
overwhelming it at the hour of deep repose. 
This letter he dispatched by a renegado Chris- 
tian, who knew all the secret roads of the coun- 
try, and, if taken, could pass himself for a Chris- 
tian who had escaped from captivity. 

El Zagal, confident in his stratagem, looked 
down upon the Christians as his devoted victims. 
As the sun went down, and the long shadows 
of the mountains stretched across the vega, he 
pointed with exultation to the camp below, ap- 
parently unconscious of the impending danger. 
" Behold," said he, " the unbelievers are delivered 
into our hands ; their king and choicest chivalry 
will soon be at our mercy. Now is the time to 
show the courage of men, and, by one glorious 
victory, retrieve all that we have lost. Happy 
he who falls fighting in the cause of the prophet ! 
he will at once be transported to the paradise of 
the faithful, and surrounded by immortal hour is. 
Happy he who shall survive victorious ! he will 
behold Granada ! — an earthly paradise — once 
more delivered from its foes, and restored to all 
its glory." The words of El Zagal were received 
with acclamations by his troops, who waited im- 
patiently for the appointed hour, to pour down 
from their mountain-hold upon the Christians. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

Result of the Stratagem of El Zagal to surprise King Ferdi- 
nand. 




UEEN ISABELLA and her court had 
remained at Cordova, in great anxiety 
for the result of the royal expedition. 
Every day brought, tidings of the difficulties 
which attended the transportation of the ordnance 
and munitions, and of the critical state of the 
army. 

While in this state of anxious suspense, cou- 
riers arrived with all speed from the frontiers, 
bringing tidings of the sudden sally of El Zagal 
from Granada, to surprise the camp. All Cor- 
dova was in consternation. The destruction of 
the Andalusian chivalry, among the mountains 
of this very neighborhood, was called to mind ; 
it was feared that similar ruin was about to burst 
forth, from rocks and precipices, upon Ferdinand 
and his army. 

Queen Isabella shared in the public alarm, but 
it served to rouse all the energies of her heroic 
mind. Instead of uttering idle apprehensions, 
she sought only how to avert the danger. She 
called upon all the men of Andalusia, under the 
age of seventy, to arm and hasten to the relief 
of their sovereign ; and she prepared to set out 



REINFORCEMENTS FOR FERDINAND. 335 

with the first levies. The grand cardinal of 
Spain, old Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, in whom 
the piety of the saint and the wisdom of the 
counselor were mingled with the fire of the cava- 
lier, offered high pay to all horsemen who would 
follow him to aid their king and the Christian 
cause ; and, buckling on armor, prepared to lead 
them to the scene of danger. 

The summons of the queen roused the quick 
Andalusian spirit. Warriors who had long since 
given up fighting, and had sent their sons to bat- 
tle, now seized the sword and lance, rusting on 
the wall, and marshaled forth their gray-headed 
domestics and their grandchildren for the field. 
The great dread was, that all aid would arrive 
too late ; El Zagal and his host had passed like a 
storm through the mountains, and it was feared 
the tempest had already burst upon the Christian 
camp. 

In the mean time, the night had closed which 
had been appointed by El Zagal for the execu- 
tion of his plan. He had watched the last light 
of day expire, and all the Spanish camp remained 
tranquil. As the hours wore away, the camp- 
fires were gradually extinguished. No drum nor 
trumpet sounded from below. Nothing was heard, 
but now and then the dull, heavy tread of troops, 
or the echoing tramp of horses — the usual pa- 
trols of the camp, and the changes of the guards. 
El Zagal restrained his own impatience, and that 
of his troops, until the night should be advanced, 
and the camp sunk in that heavy sleep from 
which men are with difficulty awakened ; and, 



336 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

when awakened, prone to be bewildered and dis- 
mayed. 

At length the appointed hour arrived. By 
order of the Moorish king, a bright flame sprung 
up from the height of Bentomiz; but El Zagal 
looked in vain for the responding light from the 
city. His impatience would brook no longer de- 
lay ; he ordered the advance of the army to de- 
scend the mountain defile and attack the camp. 
The defile was narrow, and overhung by rocks ; 
as the troops proceeded, they came suddenly, in 
a shadowy hollow, upon a dark mass of warriors, 
who, with a loud shout, rushed to assail them. 
Surprised and disconcerted, they retreated in con- 
fusion to the height. When El Zagal heard of 
a Christian force in the defile, he doubted some 
counter-plan of the enemy, and gave orders to 
light the mountain fires. On a signal given, 
bright flames sprang up on every height, from 
pyres of wood, prepared for the purpose : cliff 
blazed out after cliff, until the whole atmosphere 
was in a glow of furnace light. The ruddy glare 
lit up the glens and passes, and fell strongly upon 
the Christian camp, revealing all its tents, and 
every post and bulwark. Wherever El Zagal 
turned his eyes, he beheld the light of his fires 
flashed back from cuirass, and helm, and spark- 
ling lance ; he beheld a grove of spears planted 
in every pass, every assailable point bristling with 
arms, and squadrons of horse and foot in battle 
array, awaiting his attack. 

In fact, his letter to the alcayde of Velez Mal- 
aga had been intercepted by the vigilant Fer : 



THE STRATAGEM FOILED. 337 

dinand, the renegado messenger hanged, and secret 
measures taken, after nightfall, to give the Moors 
a warm reception. El Zagal saw that his plan 
of surprise was discovered and foiled ; furious 
with disappointment, he ordered his troops for- 
ward to the attack. They rushed down the de- 
file, but were again encountered by the mass of 
Christian warriors, being the advance guard of 
the army, commanded by Don Hurtado de Men- 
doza, brother of the grand cardinal. The Moors 
were again repulsed, and retreated up the height. 
Don Hurtado would have followed them, but the 
ascent was steep and rugged, and easily defended. 
A sharp action was kept up through the night, 
with cross-bows, darts, and arquebuses. The 
cliffs echoed with deafening uproar, while the 
fires blazing upon the mountains threw a lurid 
and uncertain light upon the scene. 

When the day dawned, and the Moors saw- 
that there was no cooperation from the city, they 
slackened in their ardor : they beheld also every 
pass of the mountain filled with Christian troops, 
and began to apprehend an assault in return. 
Just then king Ferdinand sent the marques of 
Cadiz, with horse and foot, to seize upon a height 
occupied by a battalion of the enemy. The mar- 
ques assailed the Moors with his usual intrepidity, 
and soon put them to flight. The others, who 
were above, seeing their comrades fly, threw down 
their arms, and retreated. One of those unac- 
countable panics, which now and then seize upon 
^reat bodies of people, and to which the light- 
spirited Moors were prone, now spread through- 
22 



338 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



iew 



out the camp. They were terrified, they knew 
not why, nor at what, and throwing away swords, 
lances, breast-plates, cross-bows, everything that 
could impede their motions, scattered themselves 
wildly in every direction. They fled without 
pursuers — from the glimpse of each other's arms, 
from the sound of each other's footsteps. Reduan 
de Vanegas, the brave alcayde of Granada, alone 
succeeded in collecting a body of the fugitives ; 
he made a circuit with them through the passes 
of the mountain, and forcing his way across a 
weak part of the Christian lines, galloped towards 
Velez Malaga. The rest of the Moorish host 
was completely scattered. In vain did El Zagal 
and his knights attempt to rally them ; they were 
left almost alone, and had to consult their own 
security by flight. 

The marques of Cadiz, finding no opposition, 
ascended from height to height, cautiously recon- 
noitering, and fearful of some stratagem or ambush, 
All, however, was quiet. He reached with his 
men the place which the Moorish army had occu- 
pied : the heights were abandoned, and strewed 
with cuirasses, scimetars, cross-bows, and other 
weapons. His force was too small to pursue the 
enemy, but returned to the royal camp laden with 
spoils. 

Ferdinand at first could not credit so signal 
and miraculous a defeat, but suspected some 
lurking stratagem. He ordered, therefore, that 
a strict watch should be maintained throughout 
the camp, and every one be ready for instant 
action. The following night, a thousand cavaliers 



TRIUMPH OF THE CHRISTIANS. 339 

and hidalgos kept guard about the royal tent, as 
they had done for several preceding nights ; nor 
did the king relax this vigilance, until he received 
certain intelligence that the enemy was com- 
pletely scattered, and El Zagal flying in con- 
fusion. 

The tidings of this rout, and of the safety of 
the Christian army, arrived at Cordova just as 
reinforcements were on the point of setting out. 
The anxiety and alarm of the queen and the 
public, were turned to transports of joy and grat- 
itude. The forces were disbanded, solemn pro- 
cessions were made, and Te Deums chanted in the 
churches, for so signal a victory. 




CHAPTER L. 

How the People of Granada rewarded the Valor of El Zagal. 

HE daring spirit of Muley Abdallah El 
Zagal, in sallying forth to defend his 
territories, while he left an armed rival 
in his capital, struck the people of Granada with 
admiration. They recalled his former exploits, 
and again anticipated some hardy achievement 
from his valor. Couriers from the army reported 
its formidable position on the height of Bentomiz. 
For a time, there was a pause in the bloody 
commotions of the city; all attention was turned 
to the blow about to be struck at the Christian 
camp. The same considerations which diffused 
anxiety and terror through Cordova, swelled 
every bosom with exulting confidence in Granada. 
The Moors expected to hear of another massacre, 
like that in the mountains of Malaga. " El Zagal 
has again entrapped the enemy ! " was the cry. 
" The power of the unbelievers is about to be 
struck to the heart. We shall soon see the 
Christian king led captive to the capital." Thus 
was the name of El Zagal on every tongue. He 
was extolled as the savior of the country ; the 
only one worthy of wearing the Moorish crown. 
Boabdil was reviled as basely remaining passive 






EL ZAGAVB REWARD. 341 

while his country was invaded ; and, so violent 
became the clamor of the populace, that his ad- 
herents trembled for his safety. 

While the people of Granada were impatiently 
looking out for tidings of the anticipated victory, 
scattered horsemen came spurring across the vega. 
They were fugitives from the Moorish army, and 
brought the first incoherent account of its defeat. 
Every one who attempted to tell the tale of this 
unaccountable panic and dispersion, was as if bewil- 
dered by the broken recollection of some frightful 
dream. He knew not how or why it came to 
pass. He talked of a battle in the night, among 
rocks and precipices, by the glare of bale-fires ; 
of multitudes of armed foes in every pass, seen 
by gleams and flashes ; of the -sudden horror that 
seized upon the army at daybreak ; its headlong 
flight, and total dispersion. Hour after hour, the 
arrival of other fugitives confirmed the story of 
ruin and disgrace. 

In proportion to their recent vaunting, was the 
humiliation that now fell upon the people of Gra- 
nada. There was a universal burst, not of grief, 
but of indignation. They confounded the leader 
with the army — the deserted, with those who 
had abandoned him ; and El Zagal, from being 
their idol, became suddenly the object of their ex- 
ecration. He had sacrificed the army ; he had 
disgraced the nation ; he had betrayed the coun- 
try. He was a dastard, a traitor ; he was unwor- 
thy to reign. 

On a sudden, one among the multitude shouted, 
" Long live Boabdil el Chico !" the cry was 



342 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

echoed on all sides, and every one shouted, " Long 
live Boabdil el Chico ! long live the legitimate 
king of Granada ! and death to all usurpers ! " 
In the excitement of the moment, they thronged 
to the Albaycin ; and those who had lately be- 
sieged Boabdil with arms, -now surrounded his 
palace with acclamations. The keys of the city, 
and of all the fortresses, were laid at his feet ; he 
was borne in state to the Alhambra, and once 
more seated, with all due ceremony, on the throne 
of his ancestors. 

Boabdil had by this time become so accus- 
tomed to be crowned and uncrowned by the mul- 
titude, that he put no great faith in the duration 
of their loyalty. He knew that he was sur- 
rounded by hollow hearts, and that most of the 
courtiers of the Alhambra were secretly devoted 
to his uncle. He ascended the throne as the 
rightful sovereign, who had been dispossessed of 
it by usurpation ; and he ordered the heads of 
four of the principal nobles to be struck off, who 
had been most zealous in support of the usurper. 
Executions of the kind were matters of course, 
on any change in Moorish government ; and 
Boabdil was lauded for his moderation and hu- 
manity, in being content with so small a sacrifice. 
The factions were awed into obedience ; the pop- 
ulace, delighted with any change, extolled Boab- 
dil to the skies ; and the name of Muley Abdal- 
lah El Zagal was for a time a by-word of scorn 
and opprobrium throughout the city. 

Never was any commander more astonished 
and confounded by a sudden reverse of fortune, 



HE RETIRES TO GUADIX, 343 

than El Zagal. The evening had seen him with 
a powerful army at his command, his enemy 
within his grasp, and victory about to cover him 
with glory s and to consolidate his power : the 
morning beheld him a fugitive among the moun- 
tains, his army, his prosperity, his power, all dis- 
pelled, he knew not how — gone like a dream of 
the night. In vain had he tried to stem the 
headlong flight of the army. He saw his squad- 
rons breaking and dispersing among the cliffs of 
the mountains, until, of all his host, only a hand- 
ful of cavaliers remained faithful. With these he 
made a gloomy retreat towards Granada, but 
with a heart full of foreboding. As he drew 
near to the city, he paused on the banks of the 
Xenil, and sent forth scouts to collect intelli- 
gence. They returned with dejected counte- 
nances : " The gates of Granada," said they, " are 
closed against you. The banner of Boabdil floats 
on the tower of the Alhambra." 

El Zagal turned his steed, and departed in si- 
lence. He retreated to the town of Almunecar, 
and thence to Almeria, which places still remained 
faithful to him. Restless and uneasy at being so 
distant from the capital, he again changed his 
abode, and repaired to the city of Guadix, 
within a few leagues of Granada. Here he re- 
mained, endeavoring to rally his forces, and pre- 
paring to avail himself of any sudden change in 
the fluctuating politics of the metropolis. 




CHAPTER LI. 



Surrender of Velez Malaga and other Places. 




HE people of Yelez Malaga had beheld 
the camp of Muley Abdallah, covering 
the summit of Bentomiz, and glittering 
in the last rays of the setting sun. During the 
night they had been alarmed and perplexed by 
signal-fires on the mountain, and by the sound of 
distant battle. When the morning broke, the 
Moorish army had vanished as if by enchant- 
ment. While the inhabitants were lost in won- 
der and conjecture, a body of cavalry, the frag- 
ment of the army saved by Reduan de Vanegas, 
the brave alcayde of Granada, came galloping to 
the gates. The tidings of the strange discomfit- 
ure of the host filled the city with consternation ; 
but Reduan exhorted the people to continue their 
resistance. He was devoted to El Zagal, and 
confident in his skill and prowess; and felt assured 
that he would soon collect his scattered forces, 
and return with fresh troops from Granada. The 
people were comforted by m the words, and en- 
couraged by the presence of Reduan ; and they 
had still a lingering hope that the heavy artil- 
lery of the Chriscians might be locked up in the 
impassable defiles of the mountains. This hope 



SURRENDER OF MOORISH FORTRESSES. 345 

was soon at an end. The very next day, they 
beheld long laborious lines of ordnance slowly 
moving into the Spanish camp, lombards, ribado- 
quines, catapults, and cars laden w r ith munitions, 
— while the escort, under the brave master of 
Alcantara, wheeled in great battalions into the 
camp, to augment the force of the besiegers. 

The intelligence that Granada had shut its 
gates against El Zagal, and that no reinforce- 
ments were to be expected, completed the despair 
of the inhabitants ; even Reduan himself lost confi- 
dence, and advised capitulation. 

Ferdinand granted favorable conditions, for he 
w r as eager to proceed against Malaga. The in- 
habitants were permitted to depart with their 
effects, except their arms, and to reside, if they 
chose it, in Spain, in any place distant from the 
sea. One hundred and twenty Christians, of both 
sexes, were rescued from captivity by the surren- 
der, and were sent to Cordova, where they 
were received with great tenderness by the queen 
and her daughter the Infanta Isabella, in the 
famous cathedral, in the midst of public rejoicings 
for the victory. 

The capture of Velez Malaga was followed by 
the surrender of Bentomiz, Comares, and all the 
towns and fortresses of the Axarquia, which were 
strongly garrisoned, and discreet and valiant cava- 
liers appointed as their alcaydes. The inhabi- 
tants of nearly forty towns of the Alpuxarra 
mountains, also, sent deputations to the Castilian 
sovereigns, taking the oath of allegiance as Mude- 
hares, or Moslem vassals. 



34e CONQUEST OF GRANADA: 

About the same time came letters from Boab- 
dil el Chico, announcing to the sovereigns the re- 
volution of Granada in his favor. He solicited 
kindness and protection for the inhabitants who 
had returned to their allegiance, and for those of 
all other places which should renounce adherence 
to his uncle. By this means (he observed) the 
whole kingdom of Granada would soon be induced 
to acknowledge his sway, and would be held by 
him in faithful vassalage to the Castilian crown. 

The Catholic sovereigns complied with his re- 
quest. Protection was immediately extended to 
the inhabitants of Granada, permitting them to 
cultivate their fields in peace, and to trade with 
the Christian territories in all articles excepting 
arms ; being provided with letters of surety, 
from some Christian captain or alcayde. The 
same favor was promised to all other places 
which, within six months, should renounce El 
Zagal and come under allegiance to the younger 
king. Should they not do so within that time, 
the sovereigns threatened to make war upon 
them, and conquer them for themselves. This 
measure had a great effect, in inducing many to 
return to the standard of Boabdil. 

Having made every necessary arrangement for 
the government and security of the newly con- 
quered territory, Ferdinand turned his attention 
to the great object of his campaign, the reduction 
Df Malaga. 




CHAPTER LIL 

Of the City of Malaga, and its Inhabitants. — Mission of 
Hernando del Pulgar. 




HE city of Malaga lies in the lap of a 
fertile valley, surrounded by mountains, 
excepting on the part which lies open 
to the sea. As it was one of the most important, 
so it was one of the strongest, cities of the 
Moorish kingdom. It was fortified by walls of 
prodigious strength, studded with a great number 
of huge towers. Om the land side, it was pro- 
tected by a natural barrier of mountains ; and on 
the other, the waves of the Mediterranean beat 
against the foundations of its massive bulwarks. 

At one end of the city, near the sea, on a high 
mound, stood the Alcazaba or citadel, a for- 
tress of great strength. Immediately above this, 
rose a steep and rocky mount, on the top of 
which, in old times, had been a pharos or light- 
house, from which the height derived its name of 
Gibralfaro. 1 It was at present crowned by an 
immense castle, which, from its lofty and cragged 
situation, its vast walls and mighty towers, was 
deemed impregnable. It communicated with the 
Alcazaba by a covered way, six paces broad, 
leading down between two walls, along the profile 

1 A corruption of Gibel-faro, the hill of the light-house. 



3-18 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

or ridge of the rock. The castle of Gibralfaro 
commanded both citadel and city, and was capable, 
if both were taken, of maintaining a siege. Two 
large suburbs adjoined the city : in the one to- 
wards the sea, were the dwelling-houses of the 
most opulent inhabitants, adorned with hanging 
gardens ; the other, on the land side, was thickly 
peopled, and surrounded by strong walls and 
towers. 

Malaga possessed a brave and numerous garri- 
son, and the common people were active, hardy, 
and resolute ; but the city was rich and com- 
mercial, and under the habitual control of num- 
erous opulent merchants, who dreaded the ruinous 
consequences of a siege. They were little zeal- 
ous for the warlike renown of their city, and 
longed rather to participate *in the enviable se- 
curity of property, and the lucrative privileges of 
safe traffic with the Christian territories, granted 
to all places which declared for Boabdil. At the 
head of these gainful citizens was Ali Dordux, a 
mighty merchant of uncounted wealth, connected, 
it is said with the royal family of Granada, whose 
ships traded to every part of the Levant, and 
whose word was as a law in Malaga. Ali Dor- 
dux assembled the most opulent and important 
of his commercial brethren, and they repaired in 
a body to the Alcazaba, where they were received 
by the alcayde, Aben Comixa, with that deference 
generally shown to men of their great local 
dignity and power of purse. Ali Dordux was 
ample and stately in his form, and fluent and 
emphatic in his discourse ; his eloquence had an 



HAMET EL ZEGR1. 349 

effect therefore upon the alcayde, as he represented 
the hopelessness of a defense of Malaga, the 
misery that mnst attend a siege, and the ruin that 
must follow a capture by force of arms. On the 
other hand, he set forth the grace that might be 
obtained from the Castilian sovereigns, by an 
early and voluntary acknowledgement of Boabdil 
as king ; the peaceful possession of their property, 
and the profitable commerce with the Christian 
ports, that would be allowed them. He was 
seconded by his weighty and important coadju- 
tors ; and the alcayde, accustomed to regard them 
as the arbiters of the affairs of the place, yielded 
to their united counsels. He departed, therefore, 
with all speed, to the Christian camp, empowered 
to arrange a capitulation with the Castilian mon- 
arch ; and in the mean time, his brother remained 
in command of the Alcazaba. 

There was at this time, as alcayde, in the old 
crag-built castle of Gibralfaro, a warlike and fiery 
Moor, an implacable enemy of the Christians. 
This was no other than Hamet Zeli, surnamed El 
Zegri, the once formidable alcayde of Ronda, and 
the terror of its mountains. He had never for- 
given the capture of his favorite fortress, and 
panted for vengeance on the Christians. Notwith- 
standing his reverses, he had retained the favor 
of El Zagal, who knew how to appreciate a bold 
warrior of the kind, and had placed him in com- 
mand of this important fortress of Gibralfaro. 

Hamet el Zegri had gathered round him the 
remnant of his band of Gomeres, with others of 
the same tribe, recently arrived from Morocco. 



350 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

These fierce warriors were nestled, like so many 
war-hawks, about their lofty cliff. They looked 
down with martial contempt upon the commercial 
city of Malaga, which they were placed to protect ; 
or rather, they esteemed it only for its military 
importance, and its capability of defense. They 
held no communion with its trading, gainful inhabi 
tants, and even considered the garrison of the Al- 
cazaba their inferiors. War was their pursuit and 
passion ; they rejoiced in its turbulent and per- 
ilous scenes ; and, confident in the strength of the 
city, and, above all, of their castle, they set at de- 
fiance the menace of Christian invasion. There 
were among them, also, many apostate Moors, 
who had once embraced Christianity, but had 
since recanted, and fled from the vengeance of the 
Inquisition. 1 These were desperadoes, who had 
no mercy to expect, should they again fall into 
the hands of the enemy. 

Such were the fierce elements of the garrison 
of Gibralfaro ; and its rage may easily be con- 
ceived, at hearing that Malaga was to be given up 
without a blow; that they were to sink into Chris- 
tian vassals, under the intermediate sway of Boab- 
dil el Chico ; and that the alcayde of the Al- 
cazaba had departed, to arrange the terms of ca- 
pitulation. 

Hamet determined to avert, by desperate means, 
the threatened degradation. He knew that there 
was a large party in the city faithful to El Zagal, 
being composed of warlike men, who had taken 
refuge from the various mountain towns which 
l Zurita, lib. 30, cap. 71. 



ACTS OF HAMET. 351 

had been captured ; their feelings were desperate 
as their fortunes, and, like Hamet, they panted 
for revenge upon the Christians. With these he 
had a secret conference, and received assurance 
of their adherence to him in any measures of de- 
fense. As to the counsel of the peaceful inhabi- 
tants, he considered it unworthy the consideration 
of a soldier ; and he spurned at the interference of 
the wealthy merchant Ali Dordux, in matters of 
warfare. 

" Still," said Hamet el Zegri, " let us proceed 
regularly." So he descended with his Gomeres 
to the citadel, entered it suddenly, put to death 
the brother of the alcayde, and such of the gar- 
rison as made any demur, and then summoned 
the principal inhabitants of Malaga, to deliberate 
on measures for the welfare of the city. 1 The 
wealthy merchants again mounted to the citadel 
excepting Ali Dordux, who refused to obey the 
summons. They entered with hearts filled with 
awe, for they found Hamet surrounded by his 
grim African guard, and all* the stern array of 
military power, and they beheld the bloody traces 
of the recent massacre. 

Hamet rolled a dark and searching eye upon 
the assembly. " Who," said he, " is loyal and de- 
voted to Muley Abdallah el Zagal ? " Every one 
present asserted his loyalty. " Good ! * said 
Hamet ; Ci and who is ready to prove his devotion 
to his sovereign, by defending this his important 
city to the last extremity ? " Every one present 
declared his readiness. " Enough ! " observed 
1 Cuva de los Pahcios, c. 82. 



352 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Hamet ; " the alcayde Aben Comixa has proved 
himself a traitor to his sovereign, and to you all ; 
for he has conspired to deliver the place to the 
Christians. It behooves you to choose some other 
commander, capable of defending your city against 
the approaching enemy." The assembly declared 
unanimously, that no one was so worthy of the 
command as himself. So Hamet was appointed 
alcayde of Malaga, and immediately proceeded 
to man the forts and towers with his partisans 
and to make every preparation for a desperate 
resistance. 

Intelligence of these occurrences put an end 
to the negotiations between king Ferdinand and 
the superseded alcayde Aben Comixa, and it was 
supposed there was no alternative but to lay siege 
to the place. The marques of Cadiz, however, 
found at Velez a Moorish cavalier of some note, 
a native of Malaga, who offered to tamper with 
Hamet el Zegri for the surrender of the city, or 
at least of the castle of Gibralfaro. The marques 
communicated this tct the king ; " I put this busi- 
ness, and the key of my treasury, into your hands," 
said Ferdinand ; " act, stipulate, and disburse, in 
my name, as you think proper." 

The marques armed the Moor with his own 
lance, cuirass, and target, and mounted him on 
one of his own horses. He equipped in similar 
style, alsoj another Moor, his companion and rel- 
ative. They bore secret letters to Hamet from 
the maraues, offering him the town of Coin in 
perpetual inheritance, and four thousand doblas 
in gold, if he would deliver up Gibralfaro; to- 



BRIBERY PROPOSED. 353 

gether with a farm and two thousand doblas for 
his lieutenant Ibrahim Zenete, and large sums to 
be distributed among his officers and soldiers ; 
and he offered unlimited rewards for the surrender 
of the city. 

Hamet had a warrior's admiration of the mar- 
ques of Cadiz, and received his messengers with 
courtesy in his fortress of Gibralfaro. He even 
listened to their propositions with patience, and 
dismissed them in safety, though with an absolute 
refusal. The marques thought his reply was not 
so peremptory as to discourage another effort. 
The emissaries were dispatched, therefore, a sec- 
ond time, with further propositions. They ap- 
proached Malaga in the night, but found the 
guards doubled, patrols abroad, and the whole 
place on the alert. They were discovered, pur- 
sued, and only saved themselves by the fleetness 
of their steeds, and their knowledge of the passes 
of the mountains. 1 

Finding all attempts to tamper with the faith 
of Hamet utterly futile, king Ferdinand publicly 
summoned the city to surrender, offering the most 
favorable terms in case of immediate compliance ; 
but threatening captivity to all the inhabitants, 
in case of resistance. 

It required a man of nerve to undertake the 
delivery of such a summons in the present heated 
and turbulent state of the Moorish community. 
Such a one stepped forward in the person of a 
cavalier of the royal guards, Hernan Perez del 
Pulgar by name, a youth of noble descent, who 

1 Cur a de bs Palacios, MS., c. 82. 
23 



354 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

had already signalized himself by his romantic 
valor and daring enterprise. Furnished with 
official papers for Hamet el Zegri and a private 
letter from the king to AH Dordux, he entered 
the gates of Malaga under the protection of a 
flag, and boldly delivered his summons in presence 
of the principal inhabitants. The language of 
the summons, or the tone in which it was de- 
livered, exasperated the fiery spirit of the Moors, 
and it required all the energy of Hamet and the 
influence of several of the alfaquis, to prevent an 
outrage to the person of the ambassador. The 
reply of Hamet was haughty and decided. " The 
city of Malaga has been confided to me," said he, 
" not to be surrendered, but defended, and the 
king shall witness how I acquit myself of my 
charge." 1 

His mission at an end, Hernan del Pulgar 
rode slowly and deliberately through the " city, 
utterly regardless of the scowls and menaces, and 
scarcely restrained turbulence of the multitude, 
and bore to Ferdinand at Velez the haughty 
answer of the Moor ; but at the same time gave 
him a formidable account of the force of the gar- 
rison, the strength of the fortifications, and the 
determined spirit of the commander and his men. 
The king immediately sent orders to have the 
heavy artillery forwarded from Antiquera ; and, 
on the 7th of May, marched with his army 
towards Malaga. 

i Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 74. 




CHAPTER LIIL 

Advance of King Ferdinand against Malaga. 

HE army of Ferdinand advanced in 
lengthened line, glittering along the foot 
of the mountains which border the 
Mediterranean ; while a fleet of vessels, freighted 
with heavy artillery and warlike munitions, kept 
pace with it at a short distance from the land, 
covering the sea with a thousand gleaming sails. 
When Hamet el Zegri saw this force approaching, 
he set fire to the houses of the suburbs which 
adjoined the walls, and sent forth three battalions 
to encounter the advance guard of the enemy. 

The Christian army drew near to the city, at 
that end where the castle and rocky height of 
Gibralfaro defend the seabord. Immediately op- 
posite, at about two bow-shots distance, stood 
the castle ; and between it and the high chain of 
mountains, was a steep and rocky hill, at present 
called the hill of St. Christobal, commanding a 
pass through which the Christians must march to 
penetrate to the vega and surround the city. 
Hamet ordered the three battalions to take their 
stations, one on this hill, another in the pass near 
the castle, and a third on the side of the mountain 
near the sea. 



356 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

A body of Spanish foot-soldiers, of the advance 
guard, sturdy mountaineers of Galicia, sprang 
forward to climb the side of the height next the 
sea ; at the same time, a number of cavaliers and 
hidalgos of the royal household attacked the 
Moors who guarded the pass below. The Moors 
defended their posts with obstinate valor. The 
Galicians were repeatedly overpowered and driven 
down the hill, but as often rallied, and being 
reinforced by the hidalgos and cavaliers, returned 
to the assault. This obstinate struggle lasted for 
six hours : the strife was of a deadly kind, not 
merely with cross-bows and arquebuses, but 
hand to hand, with swords and daggers ; no quar- 
ter was claimed or given, on either side — they 
fought not to make captives, but to slay. It was 
but the advance of the Christian army, that was 
engaged ; so narrow was the pass along the coast, 
that the army could proceed only in file : horse 
and foot, and beasts of burden, were crowded one 
upon another, impeding each other, and blocking 
up the narrow and rugged defile. The soldiers 
heard the uproar of the battle, the sound of 
trumpets, and the war-cries of the Moors — but 
tried in vain to press forward to the assistance of 
their companions. 

At length a body of foot-soldiers of the Holy 
Brotherhood climbed, with great difficulty, the 
steep side of the mountain which overhung the 
pass, and advanced with seven banners displayed. 
The Moors, seeing this force above them, aban- 
doned the pass in despair. The battle was still 
raging on the height ; the Galicians, though sup- 



INVESTMENT OF MALAGA. 357 

ported by Castilian troops under Don Hurtado de 
Mendoza and Garcilasso de. la Vega, were se- 
verely pressed and roughly handled by the Moors ; 
at length a brave standard-bearer, Luys Mazeda 
by name, threw himself into the midst of the 
enemy, and planted his banner on the summit. 
The Galicians and Castilians, stimulated by this 
noble self-devotion, followed him, fighting des- 
perately, and the Moors were at length driven to 
their castle of Gibralfaro. 1 

This important height being taken, the pass lay 
open to the army ; but by this time evening was 
advancing, and the host was too weary and ex- 
hausted to seek proper situations for the encamp- 
ment. The king, attended by several grandees 
and cavaliers, went the rounds at night, stationing 
outposts towards the city, and guards and patrols 
to give the alarm on the least movement of the 
enemy. All night the Christians lay upon their 
arms, lest there should be some attempt to sally 
forth and attack them. 

When the morning dawned, the king gazed 
with admiration at this city, which he hoped soon 
to add to his dominions. It was surrounded on 
one side by vineyards, gardens, and orchard^ 
which covered the hills with verdure ; on the 
other side, its walls were bathed by the smooth 
and tranquil sea. Its vast and lofty towers and 
prodigious castles, hoary with age, yet unimpared 
in strength, showed the labors of magnanimous 
men in former times to protect their favorite 
abode. Hanging gardens, groves of oranges, cit- 
1 Pulgar, Cronica. 



358 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 






rons, and pomegranates, with the cedars and stately 
palms, were mingled with the stern battlements 
and towers — bespeaking the opulence and luxury 
that reigned within. 

In the mean time, the Christian army poured 
through the pass, and throwing out its columns 
and extending its lines, took possession of every 
vantage ground around the city. King Fer- 
dinand surveyed the ground, and appointed the 
stations of the different commanders. 

The important mount of St. Christobal, which 
had cost so violent a struggle, and faced the pow- 
erful fortress of Gibralfaro, was given in charge to 
Roderigo Ponce de Leon, marques of Cadiz, who, 
in all sieges, claimed the post of danger. He had 
several noble cavaliers with their retainers in his 
encampment, which consisted of fifteen hundred 
horse and fourteen thousand foot ; and extended 
from the summit of the mount to the margin of 
the sea, completely blocking up the approach to 
the city on that side. From this post, a line of 
encampments extended quite round the city to 
the sea-board, fortified by bulwarks and deep 
ditches ; while a fleet of armed ships and galleys 
stretched before the harbor ; so that the place was 
completely invested, by sea and land. The vari- 
ous parts of the valley now resounded with the 
din of preparation, and were filled with artificers 
preparing warlike engines and munitions : armor- 
ers and smiths, with glowing forges and deafening 
hammers ; carpenters and engineers, constructing 
machines wherewith to assail the walls ; stone- 
cutters, shaping stone balls for the ordnance ; and 






EXULTING DESCRIPTION OF AGAPIDA. 359 

burners of charcoal, preparing fuel for the furnaces 
and forges. 

When the encampment was formed, the heavy 
ordnance was landed from the ships, and mounted 
in various parts of the camp. Five huge lom- 
bards were placed on the mount commanded by 
the marques of Cadiz, so as to bear upon the 
castle of Gibralfaro. 

The Moors made strenuous efforts to impede 
these preparations. They kept up a heavy fire 
from their ordnance, upon the men employed in 
digging trenches or constructing batteries, so that 
the latter had to work principally in the night. 
The royal tents had been stationed conspicuously, 
and within reach of the Moorish batteries ; but 
were so warmly assailed, that they had to be re- 
moved behind a hill. 

When the works were completed, the Christian 
batteries opened in return, and kept up a tremen- 
dous cannonade ; while the fleet, approaching the 
land, assailed the city vigorously on the opposite 
side. 

" It was a glorious and delectable sight," ob- 
serves Fray Antonio Agapida, " to behold this 
infidel city thus surrounded by sea and land, 
by a mighty Christian force. Every mound in 
its circuit was, as it were, a little city of tents, 
bearing the standard of some renowned Catholic 
warrior. Beside the warlike ships and galleys 
which lay before the place, the sea was covered 
with innumerable sails, passing and repassing, 
appearing and disappearing, being engaged in 
bringing supplies for the subsistence of the army 



360 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

It seemed a vast spectacle contrived to recreate 
the eye, did not the volleying bursts of flame and 
smoke from the ships, which seemed to lie asleep 
on the quiet sea, and the thunder of ordnance 
from camp and city, from tower and battlement, 
tell the deadly warfare that was waging. 

" At night, the scene was far more direful than 
in the day. The cheerful light of the sun was 
gone ; there was nothing but the flashes of artil- 
lery, or the baleful gleams of combustibles thrown 
into the city, and the conflagration of the houses. 
The fire kept up from the Christian batteries was 
incessant ; there were seven great lombards in 
particular, called The Seven Sisters of Ximenes, 
which did tremendous execution. The Moorish 
ordnance replied in thunder from the walls : Gib- 
ralfaro was wrapped in volumes of smoke, rolling 
about its base ; and Hamet and his Gomeres 
looked out with triumph upon the tempest of war 
they had awaked. Truly they were so many 
demons incarnate," concludes the pious Fray An- 
tonio Agapida, " who were permitted by Heaven 
to enter into and possess this infidel city, for it* 
perdition." 





CHAPTER LIV 

Siege of Malaga. 

HE attack on Malaga, by sea and land, 
was kept up for several days with tre- 
mendous violence, but without produ- 
cing any great impression, so strong were the 
ancient bulwarks of the city. The count de Ci- 
fuentes was the first to signalize himself by any 
noted achievement. A main tower, protecting 
what is at present called the suburb of Santa 
Ana, had been shattered by the ordnance, and 
the battlements demolished, so as to yield no 
shelter to its defenders. Seeing this, the count 
assembled a gallant band of cavaliers of the royal 
household, and advanced to take it by storm. 
They applied scaling ladders, and mounted, sword 
in hand. The Moors, having no longer battle- 
ments to protect them, descended to a lower floor, 
and made furious resistance from the windows 
and loopholes. They poured down boiling pitch 
and rosin, and hurled stones, and darts, and ar- 
rows, on the assailants. Many of the Christian.' 
were slain, their ladders were destroyed by flam 
mg combustibles, and the count was obliged to 
retreat from before the tower. On the following 
day he renewed the attack with superior force, 



362 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and, after a severe combat, succeeded in planting 
his victorious banner on the tower. 

The Moors now assailed the tower in their 
turn. They undermined the part towards the 
city, placed props of wood under the foundation, 
and, setting fire to them, drew off to a distance. 
In a little while the props gave way, the founda- 
tion sunk, and the tower was rent ; part of its 
wall fell, with a tremendous noise ; many of the 
Christians were thrown out headlong, and the 
rest were laid open to the missiles of the enemy. 

By this time, however, a breach had been made 
in the wall of the suburb adjoining the tower, 
and troops poured in to the assistance of their 
comrades. A continued battle was kept up for 
two days and a night, by reinforcements from 
camp and city. The parties fought backwards 
and forwards through the breach of the wall, and 
in the narrow and winding streets adjacent, with 
alternate success ; and the vicinity of the tower 
was strewn with the dead and wounded. At 
length the Moors gradually gave way, disputing 
every inch of ground, until they were driven into 
the city ; and the Christians remained masters of 
the greater part of the suburb. 

This partial success, though gained with great 
toil and bloodshed, gave temporary animation to 
the Christians ; they soon found, however, that 
the attack on the main works of the city was a 
much more arduous task. The garrison contained 
veterans who had served in many of the towns 
captured by the Christians. They were no lon- 
ger confounded and dismayed by the battering 



DESERTERS TO THE MOORS. 363 

ordnance and other strange engines of foreign 
invention, and had become expert in parrying 
their effects, in repairing breaches, and erecting 
counter-works. 

The Christians, accustomed of late to speedy 
conquests of Moorish fortresses, become impatient 
of the slow progress of the siege. Many were 
apprehensive of a scarcity of provisons, from the 
difficulty of subsisting so numerous a host in the 
heart of the enemy's country, where it was nec- 
essary to transport supplies across rugged and 
hostile mountains, or subjected to the uncertain- 
ties of the sea. Many also were alarmed at a 
pestilence which broke out in the neighboring 
villages ; and some were so overcome by these 
apprehensions, as to abandon the camp and return 
to their homes. 

Several of the loose and worthless hangers-on 
that infest all great armies, hearing these mur- 
murs, thought that the siege would soon be raised, 
and deserted to the enemy, hoping to make their 
fortunes. They gave exaggerated accounts of 
the alarms and discontents of the army, and rep- 
resented the troops as daily returning home in 
bands. Above all they declared that the gun- 
powder was nearly exhausted, so that the artillery 
would soon be useless. They assured the Moors, 
therefore, that if they persisted a little longer in 
their defense, the king would be obliged to draw 
off his forces and abandon the siege. 

The reports of these renegadoes gave fresh 
courage to the garrison ; they made vigorous sal- 
lies upon the camp, harassing it by night and 



364 CONQUEST OF GRANADA 

day, and obliging every part to be guarded with 
the most painful vigilance. They fortified the 
weak parts of their walls with ditches and pali- 
sadoes, and gave every manifestation of a deter- 
mined and unyielding spirit. 

Ferdinand soon received intelligence of the re- 
ports which had been carried to the Moors ; he 
understood that they had been informed, likewise, 
that the queen was alarmed for the safety of the 
camp, and had written repeatedly urging him to 
abandon the siege. As the best means of dis- 
proving all these falsehoods, and destroying the 
vain hopes of the enemy, he wrote to the queen, 
entreating her to come and take up her residence 
in the camp. 




CHAPTER LV. 




Siege of Malaga continued. — Obstinacy of Hamet el Zegri. 

RE AT was the enthusiasm of the army, 
when they beheld their patriot queen 
advancing in state, to share the toils and 
dangers of her people. Isabella entered the 
camp, attended by the dignitaries and the whole 
retinue of her court, to manifest that this was no 
temporary visit. On one side of her was her 
daughter, the Infanta ; on the - other, the grand 
cardinal of Spain ; Hernando de Talavere, the 
prior of Prado, confessor to the queen, followed, 
with a great train of prelates, courtiers, cavaliers, 
and ladies of distinction. The cavalcade moved 
in calm and stately order through the camp, soft- 
ening the iron aspect of war by this array of 
courtly grace and female beauty. 

Isabella had commanded, that on her coming 
to the camp, the horrors of war should be sus- 
pended, and fresh offers of peace made to the 
enemy. On her arrival, therefore, there had 
been a general cessation of firing throughout the 
camp. A messenger was, at the same time, dis- 
patched to the besieged, informing them of her 
being in the camp, and of the determination of 
the sovereigns to make it their settled residence 



366 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



"ins 

hat 
in- 



until the city should be taken. The same terms 
were offered, in case of immediate surrender, that 
had been granted to Velez Malaga ; but the 
habitants were threatened with captivity and the 
sword, should they persist in their defense. 

Hamet el Zegri received this message with 
haughty contempt, and dismissed the messenger 
without deigning a reply, and accompanied by an 
escort to prevent his holding any communication 
with the inhabitants in the streets.. " The Chris- 
tian sovereigns," said Hamet to those about him, 
" have made this offer in consequence of their de- 
spair. The silence of their batteries proves the 
truth of what has been told us, that their powder 
is exhausted. They have no longer the means of 
demolishing our walls ; and if they remain much 
longer, the autumnal rains will interrupt their 
convoys, and fill their camp with famine and dis- 
ease. The first storm will disperse their fleet, 
which has no neighboring port of shelter : Africa 
will then be open to us, to procure reinforce- 
ments and supplies. ,, 

The words of Hamet el Ze^ri were hailed as 
oracular, by his adherents. Many of the peace- 
ful part of the community, however, ventured to 
remonstrate, and to implore him to accept the 
proffered mercy. The stern Hamet silenced them 
with a terrific threat : he declared, that whoever 
should talk of capitulating, or should hold any 
communication with the Christians should be put 
to death. The Gomeres, like true men of the 
sword, acted upon the menace of their chieftain 
as upon a written law, and having detected sev- 



CONTINUANCE OF THE SIEGE. 367 

eral of the inhabitants in secret correspondence 
with the enemy, set upon and slew them, and 
confiscated their effects. This struck such ter- 
ror into the citizens, that those who had been 
loudest in their murmurs became suddenly mute, 
and were remarked as evincing the greatest bus- 
tle and alacrity in the defense of the city. 

When the messenger returned to the camp, and 
reported the contemptuous reception of the royal 
message, King Ferdinand was exceedingly indig- 
nant. Finding -the cessation of firing, on the 
queen's arrival, had encouraged a belief among the 
enemy that there was a scarcity of powder in the 
camp, he ordered a general discharge from all the 
batteries. The sudden burst of war from every 
quarter soon convinced the Moors of their error, 
and completed the confusion of the citizens, who 
knew not which most to dread, their assailants or 
their defenders, the Christians or the Gomeres. 

That evening the sovereigns visited the en- 
campment of the marques of Cadiz, which com- 
manded a view over a great part of the city, the 
camp, and the sea with its flotillas. The tent of 
the marques was of great magnitude, furnished 
with hangings of rich brocade and French cloth 
of the rarest texture. It was in the oriental 
style ; and, as it crowned the height, with the 
surrounding tents of other cavaliers, all sump- 
tuously furnished, presented a gay and silken 
contrast to the opposite towers of Gibralfaro. 
Here a splendid collation was served up to the 
sovereigns, and the courtly revel that prevailed in 
this chivalrous encampment, the glitter of pagean- 



368 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

try, and the bursts of festive music, made more 
striking the gloom and silence that reigned over 
the Moorish castle. 

The marques of Cadiz, while it was yet light, 
conducted his royal visitors to every point that 
commanded a view of the warlike scene below. 
He caused the heavy lombards also to be dis- 
charged, that the queen and ladies of •the court 
might witness the effect of those tremendous en- 
gines. The fair dames were filled with awe and 
admiration, as the mountain shook beneath their 
feet with the thunder of the artillery, and they 
beheld great fragments of the Moorish walls 
tumbling down the rocks and precipices. 

While the good marques was displaying these 
things to his royal guests, he lifted up his eyes, 
and to his astonishment beheld his own banner 
hanging out from the nearest tower of Gibralfaro. 
The blood mantled in his cheek, for it was a ban- 
ner he had lost at the time of the memorable 
massacre of the heights of Malaga. 1 To make 
this, taunt more evident, Several of the Go meres 
displayed themselves upon the battlements, ar- 
rayed in the helmets and cuirasses of some of the 
cavaliers slain or captured on that occasion. The 
marques of Cadiz restrained his indignation, and 
hsld his peace; but several of his cavaliers vowed 
loudly to revenge this cruel bravado, on the fero- 
cious garrison of Gibralfaro. 

i Diego de Valera, Cronica, MS. 



CHAPTER LVI. 



Attack of the Marques of Cadiz upon Gibralfaro. 




HE marques of Cadiz was not a cavalier 
that readily forgave an injury or an in- 
sult. On the morning after the royal 
banquet, his batteries opened a tremendous fire 
upon Gibralfaro. All day, the encampment was 
wrapped in wreaths of smoke ; nor did the assault 
cease with the day — but, throughout the night, 
there was an incessant flashing and thundering of 
the lombards, and, the following morning, the as- 
sault rather increased than slackened in fury. 
The Moorish bulwarks were no proof against those 
formidable engines. In a few days, the lofty 
tower on which the taunting banner had been dis- 
played, was shattered; a smaller tower in its vi- 
cinity reduced to ruins, and a great breach made 
in the intervening walls. 

Several of the hot-spirited cavaliers were eager 
for storming the breach, sword in hand ; others, 
more cool and wary, pointed out the rashness of 
such an .attempt ; for the Moors had worked in- 
defatigably in the night ; they had digged a deep 
ditch within the breach, and had fortified it with 
palisadoes and a high breastwork. All, however, 
agreed that the camp might safely be advanced 
24 



370 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

near to the ruined walls, and that it ought to be 
done so, in return for the insolent defiance of the 
enemy. 

The marques of Cadiz felt the temerity of the 
measure, but was unwilling to dampen the zeal 
of these high-spirited cavaliers ; and having chosen 
the post of danger in the camp, it did not become 
him to decline any service, merely because it 
might appear perilous. He ordered his outposts, 
therefore, to be advanced within a stone's-throw 
of the breach, but exhorted the soldiers to main- 
tain the utmost vigilance. 

The thunder of the batteries had ceased ; the 
troops, exhausted by two night's fatigue and 
watchfulness, and apprehending no danger from 
the dismantled walls, were half of them asleep ; 
the rest were scattered about in negligent secu- 
rity. On a sudden, upward of two thousand 
Moors sallied forth from the castle, led on by 
Ibrahim Zenete, the principal captain under 
Hamet. They fell with fearful havoc upon the 
advanced guard, slaying many of them in their 
sleep, and putting the rest to headlong flight. 

The marques was in his tent, about a bow-shot 
distant, when he heard the tumult of the onset, 
and beheld his men flying in confusion. He 
rushed forth, followed by his standard-bearer. 
" Turn again, cavaliers ! " exclaimed he ; "I am 
here, Ponce de Leon ! to the foe ! to the foe ! " 
The flying troops stopped at hearing his well- 
known voice, rallied under his banner, and turned 
upon the enemy. The encampment, by this time 
was roused ; several cavaliers from the adjoining 



ATTACK ON THE MARQUES OF CADIZ. 371 

stations had hastened to the scene of action, with a 
number of Galicians and soldiers of the Holy 
Brotherhood. An obstinate and bloody contest 
ensued ; the ruggedness of the place, the rocks, 
chasms, and declivities, broke it into numerous 
combats : Christian and Moor fought hand to hand, 
with swords and daggers ; and often, grappling 
and struggling, rolled together down the preci- 
pices. 

The banner of the marques was in dang c er of 
being taken ; he hastened to its rescue, followed 
by some of his bravest cavaliers. They were sur- 
rounded by the enemy, and several of them cut 
down. Don Diego Ponce de Leon, brother to the 
marques, was wounded by an arrow ; and his son- 
in-law, Luis Ponce, was likewise wounded : they 
succeeded, however, in rescuing the banner, and 
bearing it off in safety. The battle lasted for an 
hour ; the height was covered with killed and 
wounded, and the blood flowed in streams down 
the rocks ; at length, Ibrahim Zenete being dis- 
abled by the thrust of a lance, the Moors gave 
way and retreated to the castle. 

They now opened a galling fire from their bat- 
tlements and towers, approaching the breaches 
so as to discharge their crossbows and arquebuses 
into the advanced guard of the encampment. The 
marques was singled out ; the shot fell thick about 
him, and one passed through his buckler, and 
struck upon his cuirass, but without doing him any 
injury. Every one now saw the danger and in- 
utility of approaching the camp thus near to the 
castle ; and those who had counseled it, were 



372 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

now urgent that it should be withdrawn. It was 
accordingly removed back to its original ground, 
from which the marques had most reluctantly ad- 
vanced it. Nothing but his valor and timely aid 
had prevented this attack on his outpost from 
ending in a total rout of all that part of the army. 
Many cavaliers of distinction fell in this contest ; 
but the loss of none was felt more deeply than 
that of Ortega del Prado, captain of escaladors. 
He was one of the bravest men in the service ; 
the same who had devised the first successful 
blow of the war, the storming of Alhama, where 
he was the first to plant and mount the scaling- 
ladders. He had always been high in the favor 
and confidence of the noble Ponce de Leon, who 
knew how to appreciate and avail himself of the 
merits of all able and valiant men. 1 

1 Zurita. Mariana. Abarca. 





towers, doubling 



CHAPTER LVII. 

Siege of Malaga continued. — Stratagems of various Kinds, 

iREAT were the exertions now made, 
both by the besiegers and the besieged, 
to carry on this contest with the utmost 
Hamet went the rounds of the walls and 
the guards, and putting every- 
thing in the best posture of defense. The garri- 
son was divided into parties of a hundred, to 
each of which a captain was appointed. Some 
were to patrol, others to sally forth and skirmish 
with the enemy, and others to hold themselves 
armed and in reserve. Six albatozas, or floating 
batteries, were manned and armed with pieces of 
artillery, to attack the fleet. 

On the other hand, the Castilian sovereigns 
kept open a communication by sea with various 
parts of Spain, from which they received provis- 
ions of all kinds ; they ordered supplies of pow- 
der also from Valencia, Barcelona, Sicily, and 
Portugal. They made great preparations also 
for storming the city. Towers of wood were 
constructed, to move on wheels, each capable of 
holding one hundred men ; they were furnished 
with ladders, to be thrown from their summits to 
the tops of the walls ; and within those ladders 



374 CONQUEST OF GRANADA 

others were encased, to be let down for the 
descent of the troops into the city. There were 
gallipagos or tortoises, also, being great wooden 
shields, covered with hides, to protect the assail- 
ants and those who undermined the walls. 

Secret mines were commenced in various 
places ; some were intended to reach to the 
foundations of the walls, which were to be 
propped up with wood, ready to be set on fire; 
others were to pass under the walls, and remain 
ready to be broken open, so as to give entrance 
to the besiegers. At these mines the army 
worked day and night ; and, during these secret 
preparations, the ordnance kept up a fire upon 
the city, to divert the attention of the besieged. 

In the mean time, Hamet displayed wonderful 
vigor and ingenuity in defending the city, and .in 
repairing or fortifying, by deep ditches, the 
breaches made by the enemy. He noted, also, 
every place where the camp might be assailed 
with advantage, and gave the besieging army no 
repose night or day. While his troops sallied on 
the land, his floating batteries attacked the be- 
siegers on the sea ; so that there was incessant 
skirmishing. The tents called the Queen's Hos- 
pital were crowded with wounded, and the whole 
army suffered from constant watchfulness and 
fatigue. To guard against the sudden assaults 
of the Moors, the trenches were deepened, and 
palisadoes erected in front of the camp; and in 
that part facing Gibralfaro, where the rocky 
heights did not admit of such defenses, a high 
rampart of earth was thrown up. The cavaliers 



STRATAGEMS OF VARIOUS KINDS. 375 

Garcilasso de la Vega, Juan de Zuniga, and Di- 
ego de Atayde were appointed to go the rounds, 
and keep vigilant watch that these fortifications 
were maintained in good order. 

In a little while Harnet discovered the mines 
secretly commenced by the Christians : he imme- 
diately ordered counter-mines. The soldiers mu- 
tually worked until they met and fought hand to 
hand, in these subterranean passages. The Chris- 
tians were driven out of one of their mines ; fire 
was set to the wooden framework, and the mine 
destroyed. Encouraged by this success, the 
Moors attempted a general attack upon the camp, 
the mines, and the besieging fleet. The battle 
lasted for six hours, on land and water, above 
and below ground, on bulwark and in trench and 
mine ; the Moors displayed wonderful intrepidity, 
but were finally repulsed at all points, and obliged 
to retire into the city, where they were closely 
invested, without the means of receiving any as- 
sistance from abroad. 

The horrors of famine were now added to the 
other miseries of Malaga. Hamet, with the 
spirit of a man bred up to war, considered every- 
thing as subservient to the wants of the soldier 
and ordered all the grain in the city to be gath- 
ered and garnered up for the sole use of those 
who fought. Even this was dealt out sparingly, 
and each soldier received four ounces of bread in 
the morning, and two in the evening, for his daily 
allowance. 

The wealthy inhabitants, and all those peace- 
fully inclined, mourned over a resistance which 



376 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

brought destruction upon their houses, death into 
their families, and which they saw must end in 
their ruin and captivity ; still none of them dared 
to speak openly of capitulation, or even to mani- 
fest their grief, lest they should awaken the wrath 
of their fierce defenders. They surrounded their 
civic champion, Ali Dordux, the great and opu- 
lent merchant, who had buckled on shield and 
cuirass, and taken spear in hand for the defense 
of his native city, and, with a large body of the 
braver citizens, had charge of one of the gates 
and a considerable portion of the walls. Draw- 
ing Ali Dordux aside, they poured forth their 
griefs to him in secret. " Why," said they, 
" should we suffer our native city to be made a 
mere bulwark and fighting-place for foreign bar- 
barians and desperate men ? They have no fam- 
ilies to care for, no property to lose, no love for 
the soil, and no value for their lives. They fight 
to gratify a thirst for blood or a desire for re- 
venge, and will fight on until Malaga becomes -a 
ruin and its people slaves. Let us think and act 
for ourselves, our wives, and our children. Let 
us make private terms with the Christians before 
it is too late, and save ourselves from destruction." 
The bowels of Ali Dordux yearned towards 
his fellow-citizens ; he bethought him also of the 
sweet security of peace, and the bloodless yet 
gratifying triumphs of gainful traffic. The idea 
tdso of \\ secret negotiation or bargain with the 
Castilian sovereigns, for the redemption of his 
native city, was more conformable to his accus- 
tomed habits than this violent appeal to arms ; 



NEGOTIATION OF ALI DORDUX. 377 

for though he had for a time assumed the war- 
rior, he had not forgotten the merchant. Ali 
Dordux communed, therefore, with the citizen- 
soldiers under his command, and they readily 
conformed to his opinion. Concerting together, 
they wrote a proposition to the Castilian sover- 
eigns, offering to admit the army into the part of 
the city intrusted to their care, on receiving as- 
surance of protection for the lives and properties 
of the inhabitants. This writing they delivered 
to a trusty emissary to take to the Christian 
camp, appointing the hour and place of his re- 
turn, that they might be ready to admit him un- 
perceived. 

The Moor made his way in safety to the camp, 
and was admitted to the presence of the sover- 
eigns. Eager to gain the city without further 
cost of blood or treasure, thev gave a written 
promise to grant the condition; and the Moor 
set out joyfully on his return. As he approached 
the walls where Ali Dordux and his confederates 
were waiting to receive him, he was descried by 
a patrolling band of Gomeres, and x considered a 
spy coming from the ^amp of the besiegers. 
They issued forth and seized him, in sight of 
his employers, who gave themselves up for lost. 
The Gomeres had conducted him nearly to the 
gate, when he escaped from their grasp and fled. 
They endeavored to overtake him, but were en- 
cumbered with armor; he was lightly clad, and 
tie. fled for his life. One of the Gomeres paused, 
and, leveling his cross-bow, let fly a bolt, which 
pierced the fugitive between the shoulders ; he 



378 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

fell, and was nearly within their grasp, but rose 
again, and with a desperate effort attained the 
Christian camp. The Gomeres gave over the 
pursuit, and the citizens returned thanks to Allah 
for their deliverance from this fearful peril. As 
to the faithful messenger, he died of his wound 
shortly after reaching the camp, consoled with 
the idea that he had preserved the secret and the 
lives of his employers. 1 

1 Pulgar. Cronica, p. 8, c. 80. 




CHAPTER LVIIL 



Sufferings of the People of Malaga. 




HE sufferings of Malaga spread sorrow 
and anxiety among the Moors ; and they 
fiSHJ dreaded lest this beautiful city, once the 
bulwark of the kingdom, should fall into the 
hands of the unbelievers. The old warrior king, 
Abdallah el Zagal, was still sheltered in Guadix, 
where he was slowly gathering together his shat- 
tered forces. When the people of Guadix heard 
of the danger and distress of Malaga, they urged 
to be led to its relief; and the alfaquis admonished 
El Zagal not to desert so righteous and loyal a 
city, in its extremity. His own warlike nature 
made him feel a sympathy for a place that made 
so gallant a resistance ; and he dispatched as pow- 
erful a reinforcement as he could spare, under 
conduct of a chosen captain, with orders to throw 
themselves into the city. 

Intelligence of this reinforcement reached Boab- 
dil el Chico in his royal palace of the Alhambra. 
Filled with hostility against his uncle, and desi- 
rous of proving his loyalty to the Castilian sover- 
eigns, he immediately sent forth a superior force 
of horse and foot, under an able commander, to 
intercept the detachment. A sharp conflict en- 



380 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

sued ; the troops of El Zagal were routed with 
great loss, and fled back in confusion to Guadix. 

Boabdil, not being accustomed to victories, was 
flushed with this melancholy triumph. He sent 
tidings of it to the Castilian sovereigns, accom- 
panied with, rich silks, boxes of Arabian perfume, 
a cup of gold, richly wrought, and a female cap- 
tive of Ubeda, as presents to the queen ; and 
four Arabian steeds, magnificently caparisoned, a 
sword and dagger richly mounted, and several 
albornozes and other robes sumptuously embroid- 
ered, for the king. He entreated them, at the 
same time, always to look upon him with favor 
as their devoted vassal. 

Boabdil was fated to be unfortunate, even in 
his victories. His defeat of the forces of his 
uncle, destined to the relief of unhappy Malaga, 
shocked the feelings and cooled the loyalty of 
many of his best adherents. The mere men of 
traffic might rejoice in their golden interval of 
peace; but the chivalrous spirits of Granada 
spurned a security purchased by such sacrifices 
of pride and affection. The people at large, 
having gratified their love of change, began to 
question whether they had acted geuerously by 
their old fighting monarch. " El Zagal," said 
they, " was fierce and bloody, but then he was 
faithful to his country; he was an usurper, it is 
true, but then he maintained the glory of the 
crown which he usurped. If his sceptre was a 
rod of iron to his subjects, it was a sword of 
steel against their enemies. This Boabdil sacri- 
fices religion, friends, country, everything, to a 



FACTIOUS MURMURS, 581 

mere shadow of royalty, and is content to hold a 
rush for a sceptre." 

These factious murmurs soon reached the ears 
of Boabdil, and he apprehended another of his 
customary reverses. He sent in all haste to the 
Castilian sovereigns, beseeching military aid to 
keep him on his throne. Ferdinand graciously 
complied with a request so much in unison with 
his policy. A detachment of one thousand cav- 
alry and two thousand infantry was sent, under 
the command of Don Fernandez Gonsalvo of 
Cordova, subsequently renowned as the grand 
captain. With this succor, Boabdil expelled 
from the city all those who were hostile to him, 
and in favor of his uncle. He felt secure in 
these troops, from their being distinct in manners, 
language, and religion, from his subjects ; and 
compromised w r ith his pride, in thus exhibiting 
that most unnatural and humiliating of all regal 
spectacles, a monarch supported on his throne by 
foreign weapons and by soldiers hostile to his 
people. 

Nor was Boabdil el Chico the only Moorish 
sovereign that sought protection from Ferdinand 
and Isabella. A splendid galley, with lateen sails, 
and several banks of oars, displaying the standard 
of the crescent, but likewise a white flag in sign 
of -amity, came one day into the harbor. An 
ambassador landed from it, within the Christian 
lines. He came from the king of Tremezan, 
and brought presents similar to those of Boabdil, 
consisting of Arabian coursers, with bits, stirrups, 
and other furniture of gold, together with costly 



382 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Moorish mantles ; for the queen, there were 
sumptuous shawls, robes, and silken stuffs, orna- 
ments of gold, and exquisite oriental perfumes. 

The king of Tremezan had been alarmed at 
the rapid conquests of the Spanish arms, and 
startled by the descent of several Spanish cruisers 
on the coast of Africa. He craved to be consid- 
ered a vassal to the Castilian sovereigns, and that 
they would extend such favor and security to his 
ships and subjects as had been shown to other 
Moors who had submitted to their sway. He 
requested a painting of their arms, that he and 
his subjects might recognize and respect their 
standard, whenever they encountered it. At the 
same time he implored their clemency toward 
unhappy Malaga, and that its inhabitants might 
experience the same favor that had been shown 
towards the Moors of other captured cities. 

The embassy was graciously received by the 
Christian sovereigns. They granted the protec- 
tion required ; ordering their commanders to re- 
spect the flag of Tremezan, unless it should be 
found rendering assistance to the enemy. They 
sent also to the Barbary monarch their royal 
arms, moulded in escutcheons of gold, a hand's- 
breadth in size. 1 

While thus the chances of assistance from 
without daily decreased, famine raged in the city. 
The inhabitants were compelled to eat the flesh 
of horses, and many died of hunger. What 
made the sufferings of the citizens the more in- 
tolerable was, to behold the sea covered with 
1 Cur a de los Palacios, c. 84. Pulgar, part 3, c. 68. 



FAMINE IN MALAGA. 



383 



ships, daily arriving with provisions for the be- 
siegers. Day after day, also, they saw herds of 
fat cattle and flocks of sheep driven into the 
camp. Wheat and flour were piled in huge 
mounds in the centre of the encampments, glar- 
ing in the sunshine, and tantalizing the wretched 
citizens, who, while they and their children were 
perishing with hunger, beheld prodigal abundance 
reigning within a bowshot of their walls. 






CHAPTER LIX. 

Bow & Moorish Santon undertook to deliver the City of Mal- 
aga from the Power of its Enemies. 

HERE lived at this time, in a hamlet 
in the neighborhood of Guadix, an 
ancient Moor, of the name of Ibrahim 
el Guerbi. He was a native of the island of 
Guerbes, in the kingdom of Tunis, and had for 
several years led the life of a santon or hermit. 
The hot sun of Africa had dried his blood, and 
rendered him of an exalted yet melancholy tem- 
perament. He passed most of his time in caves 
of the mountains, in meditation, prayer, and rig- 
orous abstinence, until his body was wasted and 
his mind bewildered, and he fancied himself fa- 
vored with divine revelations, and visited by angels, 
sent by Mahomet. The Moors, who have a great 
reverence for all enthusiasts of the kind, believed 
in his being inspired, listened to all his ravings as 
veritable prophecies, and denominated him el 
santo, or the saint. 

The woes of the kingdom of Granada had 
long exasperated the gloomy spirit of this man, 
and he had beheld with indignation this beautiful 
country wrested from the dominion of the faith- 
ful, and becoming a prey to the unbelievers. 
He had implored the blessings of Allah on the 



THE MOORISH SAN TON. 385 

troops which issued forth from Guadix for the re- 
lief of Malaga ; but when he saw them return, 
routed and scattered by their own countrymen, 
he retired to his cell, shut himself up from the 
world, and was plunged for a time in the blackest 
melancholy. 

On a sudden he made his appearance again in 
the streets of Guadix, his face haggard, his form 
emaciated, but his eye beaming with fire. He 
said that Allah had sent an angel to him in the 
solitude of his cell, revealing to him a mode of 
delivering Malaga from its perils, and striking 
horror and confusion into the camp of the unbe- 
lievers. The Moors listened with eager credu- 
lity to his words : four hundred of them offered 
to follow him even to the death, and to obey im- 
plicitly his commands. Of this number many 
were Gomeres, anxious to relieve their country- 
men, who formed part of the garrison of Malaga. 

They traversed the kingdom by the wild and 
lonely passes of the mountains, concealing them- 
selves in the day and travelling only in the night, 
to elude the Christian scouts. At length they 
arrived at the mountains which tower above 
Malaga, and, looking down, beheld the city com- 
pletely invested ; a chain of encampments extend- 
ing round it from shore to shore, and a line of 
ships blockading it by sea ; while the continual 
thunder of artillery, and the smoke rising in 
various parts, showed that the siege was pressed 
with great activity. The hermit scanned the 
encampments warily, from his lofty height. He 
saw that the part of the encampment of the 
25 



386 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 






marques of Cadiz which was at the foot of the 
height, and on the margin of the sea, was most 
assailable, the rocky soil not admitting ditches or 
palisadoes. Remaining concealed all day, he 
descended with his followers at night to the sea- 
coast, and approached silently to the outworks. 
He had given them their instructions ; they were 
to rush suddenly upon the camp, fight their way 
through, and throw themselves into the city. 

It was just at the gray of the dawning, when 
objects are obscurely visible, that they made this 
desperate attempt. Some sprang suddenly upon 
the sentinels, others rushed into the sea and got 
round the works, others clambered over the 
breastworks. There was sharp skirmishing ; a 
great part of the Moors were cut to pieces, but 
about two hundred succeeded in getting into the 
gates of Malaga. 

•The santon took no part in the conflict, nor 
did he endeavor to enter the city. His plans 
were of a different nature. Drawing apart from 
the battle, he threw himself on his knees on a 
rising ground, and, lifting his hands to Heaven, 
appeared to be absorbed in prayer. The Chris- 
tians, as they were searching for fugitives in the 
clefts of the rocks, found him at his devotions. 
He stirred not at their approach, but remained 
fixed as a statue, without changing color or mov- 
ing a muscle. Filled with surprise, not un- 
mingled with awe, they took him to the marques 
of Cadiz. He was wrapped in a coarse albornoz, 
or Moorish mantle ; his beard was long and griz- 
ded, and there was something wild and melan- 



TREACHEROUS ATTACK. 387 

choly in his look, that inspired curiosity. On 
being examined, he gave himself out as a saint 
to whom Allah had revealed the events that were 
to take place in that siege. The marques de- 
manded when and how Malaga was to be taken. 
He replied that he knew full well, but he was 
forbidden to reveal those important secrets ex- 
cept to the king and queen. The good marques 
was not more given to superstitious fancies than 
other commanders of his time, yet there seemed 
something singular and mysterious about this 
man ; he might have some important intelligence 
to communicate ; so he was persuaded to send 
him to the king and queen. He was conducted 
to the royal tent, surrounded by a curious multi- 
tude, exclaiming u El Moro Santo/" for the news 
had spread through the camp, that they had 
taken a Moorish prophet. 

The king, having dined, was taking his siesta, 
or afternoon's sleep, in his tent ; and the queen, 
though curious to see this singular man, yet, 
from a natural delicacy and reserve, delayed until 
the king should be present. He was taken there- 
fore to an adjoining tent, in which were Dona 
Beatrix de Bobadilla, marchioness of Moya, and 
Don Alvaro of Portugal, son of the duke of Bra- 
ganza, with two or three attendants. The Moor, 
ignorant of the Spanish tongue, had not under- 
stood the conversation of the guards, and sup- 
posed, from the magnificence of the furniture and 
the silken hangings, that this was the royal tent. 
From the respect paid by the attendants to Don 
Alvaro and the marchioness, he concluded that 
they were the king and queen. 



388 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

He now asked for a draught of water ; a jar was 
brought to him, and the guard released his arm 
to enable him to drink. The marchioness per- 
ceived a sudden change in his countenance, and 
something sinister in the expression of his eye 
and shifted her position to a more remote part of 
the tent. Pretending to raise the water to his 
lips, the Moor unfolded his albornoz, so as to 
grasp a scimetar which he wore concealed be- 
neath ; then, dashing down the jar, he drew his 
weapon, and gave Don Alvaro a blow on the 
head, that struck him to the earth, and nearly de- 
prived him of life. Turning then upon the 
marchioness, he made a violent blow at her ; but 
in his eagerness and agitation, his scimetar caught 
in the drapery of the tent ; the force of the blow 
was broken, and the weapon struck harmless 
upon some golden ornaments of her head-dress. 1 

K,uy Lopez de Toledo, treasurer to the queen, 
and Juan de Belalcazar, a sturdy friar, who were 
present, grappled and struggled with the desper- 
ado ; and immediately the guards, who had con- 
ducted him from the marques de Cadiz, fell upon 
him and cut him to pieces. 2 

The king and queen, brought out of their tents 
by the noise, were filled with horror when they 
learned the imminent peril from which they had 
escaped. The mangled body of the Moor was 
taken by the people to the camp, and thrown into 
the city from a catapult. The Gomeres gathered 
up the body with deep reverence, as the remains 
of a saint ; they washed and perfumed it, and 
1 Pietro Martyr, Episi. 62. 2 Cura de los Palacios. 



GLOOMY APPREHENSIONS, 389 

buried it with great honor and loud lamentations. 
In revenge of his death, they slew one of their 
principal Christian captives, and, having tied his 
body upon an ass, they drove the animal forth 
into the camp. 

From this time, there was appointed an ad- 
ditional guard around the tents of the king and 
queen, composed of four hundred cavaliers of 
rank, of the kingdoms of Castile and Arragon. 
No person was admitted to the royal presence 
armed ; no Moor was allowed to enter the camp, 
without a previous knowledge of his character 
and business ; and on no account was any Moor 
to be introduced into the presence of the sove- 
reigns. 

An act of treachery of such ferocious nature, 
gave rise to a train of gloomy apprehensions. 
There were many cabins and sheds about the 
camp, constructed of branches of trees which had 
become dry and combustible ; and fears were en- 
tertained that they might be set on fire by the 
Mudexares or Moorish vassals, who visited the 
army. Some even dreaded that attempts might 
be made to poison the wells and fountains. To 
quiet these dismal alarms, all Mudexares were 
ordered to leave the camp ; and all loose, idle loit- 
erers, who could not give a good account of them- 
selves, were taken into custody. 



CHAPTER LX. 



How Hamet el Zegri was hardened in his Obstinacy, by the 
Arts of a Moorish Astrologer. 




MONG those followers of the santon that 
had effected their entrance into the city, 
was a dark African of the tribe of the 
Gomeres, who was likewise a hermit or dervise, 
and passed among the Moors for a holy and in- 
spired man. No sooner were the mangled re- 
mains of his predecessor buried with the honors 
of martyrdom, than this dervise elevated himself 
in his place, and professed to be gifted with the 
spirit of prophecy. He displayed a white banner, 
which, he assured the Moors, was sacred ; that 
he had retained it for twenty years for some sig- 
nal purpose, arid that Allah had revealed to him 
that under that banner the inhabitants of Malaga 
should sally forth upon the camp of the unbeliev- 
ers, put it to utter rout, and banquet upon the 
provisions in which it abounded. 1 The hungry 
and credulous Moors were elated at this predic- 
tion, and cried out to be led forth at once to the 
attack ; but the dervise told them the time was 
not yet arrived, for every event had its allotted 
iay in the decrees of fate ; they must wait pa- 
1 Cura de los Palacios, cap. 84. 



PROGRESS OF THE SIEGE. 391 

tiently, therefore, until the appointed time should 
be revealed to him by Heaven. Hamet el Zegri 
listened to the dervise with profound reverence, 
and his example had great effect in increasing the 
awe and deference of his followers. He took the 
holy man up into his stronghold of Gibralfaro, 
consulted him on all occasions, and hung out his 
white banner on the loftiest tower, as a signal of 
encouragement to the people of the city. 

In the mean time, the prime chivalry of Spain 
was gradually assembling before the walls of Mal- 
aga. The army which had commenced the siege 
had been worn out by extreme hardships, having 
had to construct immense works, to dig trenches 
and mines, to mount guard by sea and land, to 
patrol the mountains, and to sustain incessant 
conflicts. The sovereigns were obliged, therefore, 
to call upon various distant cities, for reinforce- 
ments of horse and foot. Many nobles, also as- 
sembled their vassals, and repaired, of their own 
accord, to the royal camp. 

Every little while, some stately galley or gal- 
lant caravel would stand into the harbor, display- 
ing the well-known banner of some Spanish cav- 
alier, and thundering from its artillery a saluta- 
tion to the sovereigns and a defiance to the 
Moors. On the land side also, reinforcements 
would be seen, winding down from the mountains 
to the sound of drum and trumpet, and marching 
into the camp with glistening arms, as yet unsul- 
lied by the toils of war. 

One morning, the whole sea was whitened by 
the sails and vexed by the oars of ships and gal- 



392 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

leys bearing towards the port. One hundred 
vessels of various kinds and sizes arrived, some 
armed for warlike service, others deep freighted 
with provisions. At the same time, the clangor 
of drum and trumpet bespoke the arrival of a 
powerful force by land, which came pouring in 
lengthening columns into the camp. This mighty 
reinforcement was furnished by the duke of Me- 
dina Sidonia, who reigned like a petty monarch 
over his vast possessions. He came with this 
princely force, a volunteer to the royal standard, 
not having been summoned by the sovereigns ; 
and he brought, moreover, a loan of twenty 
thousand doblas of gold. 

When the camp was thus powerfully reinforced, 
Isabella advised that new offers of an indulgent 
kind should be made to the inhabitants ; for she 
was anxious to prevent the miseries of a pro- 
tracted siege, or the effusion of blood that must 
attend a general attack. A fresh summons was 
therefore, sent for the city to surrender, with a 
promise of life, liberty, and property in case of 
immediate compliance ; but denouncing all the 
horrors of war, if the defense were obstinately 
continued. 

Hamet again rejected the offer with scorn 
His main fortifications as yet were but little im- 
paired, and were capable of holding out much 
longer ; he trusted to the thousand evils and ac- 
cidents that beset a besieging army, and to the 
inclemencies of the approaching season ; and it 
is said that he, as well as his followers, had an 
infatuated belief in the predictions of the dervise. 



THE MOORISH ASTROLOGER. 393 

The worthy Fray Antonio Agapida does not 
scruple to affirm that the pretended prophet of the 
city was an arch nigromancer, or Moorish magi- 
cian, " of which there be countless many," says he, 
* in the filthy sect of Mahomet ;" and that he was 
leagued with the prince of the powers of the air, 
to endeavor to work the confusion and defeat of 
the Christian army. The worthy father asserts, 
also, that Hamet employed him in a high tower 
of the Gibralfaro, which commanded a wide view 
over sea and land, where he wrought spells and in- 
cantations with astrolabes and other diabolical 
instruments to defeat the Christian ships and 
forces, whenever they were engaged with the 
Moors. 

To the potent spells of this sorcerer, he as- 
cribes the perils and losses sustained by a party 
of cavaliers of the royal household, in a desper- 
ate combat to gain two towers in the suburb, 
near the gate of the city, called la Puerto de 
Granada. The Christians, led on by Ruy Lopez 
de Toledo, the valiant treasurer of the queen, 
took, and lost, and retook the towers, which were 
finally set on fire by the Moors, and abandoned to 
the flames by both parties. To the same malignant 
influence he attributes the damage done to the 
Christian fleet, which was so vigorously assailed by 
the albatozas, or floating batteries of the Moors, 
that one ship, belonging to the duke of Medina 
Sidonia, was sunk, and the rest were obliged to 
n etire. 

" Hamet el Zegri," says Fray Antonio Agapida, 
" stood on the top of the high tower of Gibral- 



894 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

faro, and beheld this injury wrought upon the 
Christian force ; and his proud heart was puffed 
up. And the Moorish nigromancer stood beside 
him. And he pointed out to him the Christian 
host below, encamped on every eminence around 
the city, and covering its fertile valley, and the 
many ships floating upon the tranquil sea ; and 
he bade him be strong of heart, for that in a few 
days all this mighty fleet would be scattered by 
the winds of Heaven ; and that he should sally 
forth, under the guidance of the sacred banner, 
and attack this host and utterly defeat it, and 
make spoil of those sumptuous tents ; and Mal- 
aga should be triumphantly revenged upon her 
assailants. So the heart of Hamet was hardened 
like that of Pharaoh, and he persisted in setting 
at defiance the Catholic sovereigns and their army 
of saintly warriors. 







CHAPTER LXL 

Siege of Malaga continued. — Destruction of a Tower, by 
Francisco Ramirez de Madrid. 

EEING the infatuated obstinancy of the 
besieged, the Christians now approached 
fca|£||0j their works to the walls, gaining one 



position after another, preparatory to a general 
assault. Near the barrier of the city was a bridge 
with four arches, defended at each end by a strong 
and lofty tower, by which a part of the army would 
have to pass in making an attack. The com- 
mander-in-chief of the artillery, Francisco Rami- 
rez de Madrid, was ordered to take possession of 
this bridge. The approach to it was perilous in 
the extreme, from the exposed situation of the as- 
sailants, and the number of Moors that garrisoned 
the towers. Francisco Ramirez therefore secretly 
excavated a mine leading beneath the first tower, 
and placed a piece of ordnance with its mouth up- 
wards, immediately under the foundation, with a 
train of powder to produce an explosion at the 
necessary moment. 

When this was arranged, he advanced slowly 
with his forces in face of the towers, erecting 
bulwarks at every step, and gradually gaining 
ground until he arrived near to the bridge. He 
then planted several pieces of artillery in his 



39 G CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

works, and began to batter the tower. The 
Moors replied bravely from their battlements 
but, in the heat of the combat, the piece of ord 
nance under the foundation was discharged. Tfo 
earth was rent open, a part of the tower over 
thrown, and several of the Moors were torn t< 
pieces ; the rest took to flight, overwhelmed witl 
terror at this thundering explosion bursting be 
neath their feet, and at beholding the earth vomit 
ing flames and smoke ; for never before had the} 
witnessed such a stratagem in warfare. Tht 
Christians rushed forward and took possession of 
the abandoned post, and immediately commenced 
an attack upon the other tower at the opposite 
end of the bridge, to which the Moors had retired, 
An incessant fire of cross-bows and arquebuses 
was kept up between the rival towers, volleys of 
stones were discharged, and no one dared to ven- 
ture upon the intermediate bridge. 

Francisco de Ramirez at length renewed his 
former mode of approach, making bulwarks step 
by step, while the Moors stationed at the other 
end, swept the bridge with their artillery. The 
combat was long and bloody, — furious on the 
part of the Moors, patient and persevering on the 
part of the Christians. By slow degrees, they 
accomplished their advance across the bridge, 
drove the enemy before them, and remained mas- 
ters of this important pass. 

For this valiant and skillful achievement, king 
Ferdinand after the surrender of the city con- 
ferred the dignity of knighthood upon Francisco 
Ramirez, in the tower which he had so gloriously 



AGAPIDA'S EXTRAVAGANT EULOGY. 397 

gained. 1 The worthy padre Fray Antonio Aga- 
pi la indulges in more than a page of extravagant 
eulogy, upon this invention of blowing up the 
foundation of the tower by a piece of ordnance, 
which, in fact, is said to be the first instance on 
record of gunpowder being used in a mine. 

1 Pulgar, pt. 3, c. 91. 





CHAPTER LXIL 

How the People of Malaga expostulated with Hamet el Zegri. 

HILE the dervise was deluding the gar- 
rison of Malaga with vain hopes, the 
famine increased to a terrible decree. 
The Gomeres ranged about the city as though it 
had been a conquered place, taking by force what- 
ever they found eatable in the houses of the peace- 
ful citizens ; and breaking open vaults and cellars, 
and demolishing walls, wherever they thought 
provisions might be concealed. 

The wretched inhabitants had no longer bread 
to eat ; the horse-flesh also now failed them, and 
they were fain to devour skins and hides toasted 
at the fire, and to assuage the hunger of their 
children with vine-leaves cut up and fried in oil. 
Many perished of famine, or of the unwholesome 
food with which they endeavored to relieve it ; 
and many took refuge in the Christian camp, pre- 
fering captivity to the horrors which surrounded 
them. 

At length the sufferings of the inhabitants be- 
came so great, as to conquer even their fears of 
Hamet and his Gomeres. They assembled be- 
fore the house of Ali Dordux, the wealthy mer- 
chant, whose stately mansion was at the foot of 



EXPOSTULATIONS OF THE PEOPLE. 399 

the Alcazaba, and they urged him to stand forth 
as their leader, and to intercede with Hamet for 
a surrender. All Dordux was a man of courage, 
as well as policy ; he perceived also that hunger 
was giving boldness to the citizens, while he 
trusted it was subduing the fierceness of the sol- 
diery. He armed himself, therefore, cap-a-pie, 
and undertook this dangerous parley with the al- 
cayde. He associated with him an alfaqui named 
Abraham Alhariz, and an important inhabitant 
named Amar ben Amar; and they ascended to 
the fortress of Gibralfaro, followed by several of 
the trembling merchants. 

They found Hamet el Zegri, not as before, sur- 
rounded by ferocious guards and all the imple- 
ments of war ; but in a chamber of one of the 
lofty towers, at a table of stone, covered with 
scrolls traced with strange characters and mystic 
diagrams ; while instruments of singular and un- 
known form lay about the room. Beside Hamet 
stood the prophetic dervise, who appeared to have 
been explaining to him the mysterious inscriptions 
of the scrolls. His presence filled the citizens 
with awe, for even Ali Dordux considered him a 
man inspired. 

The alfaqui Abraham Alhariz, whose sacred 
character gave him boldness to speak, now lifted 
up his voice, and addressed Hamet el Zegri. u We 
implore thee," said he, solemnly, ik in the name of 
the most powerful God, no longer to persist in a 
vain resistance, which must end in our destruction, 
but deliver up the city while clemency is yet to 
be obtained. Think how many of our warriors 



400 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

have fallen by the sword ; do not suffer those who 
survive to perish by famine. Our wives and chil- 
dren cry to us for bread, and we have none to 
give them. We see them expire in lingering ag- 
ony before our eyes, while the enemy mocks our 
misery by displaying the abundance of his camp. 
Of what avail is our defense ? Are our walls 
peradventure more strong than the walls of Ronda ? 
Are our warriors more brave than the defenders 
of Loxa ? The walls of Ronda were thrown 
down, and the warriors of Loxa had to surrender. 
Do we hope for succor ? — whence are we to re- 
ceive it? The time for hope is gone by. Gra- 
nada has lost its power ; it no longer possesses 
chivalry, commanders, nor a king. Boabdil sits 
a vassal in the degraded halls of the Alhambra ; 
El Zagal is a fugitive, shut up within the walls 
of Guadix. The kingdom is divided against it- 
self, — its strength is, gone, its pride fallen, its 
very existence at an end. In the name of Allah, 
we conjure thee, who art our captain, be not our 
direst enemy ; but surrender these ruins of our 
once happy Malaga, and deliver us from these 
overwhelming horrors." 

Such was the supplication forced from the in- 
habitants by the extremity of their sufferings. 
Hamet listened to the alfaqui without anger, for 
he respected the sanctity of his office. His heart, 
too, was at that moment lifted up with a vain con- 
fidence. " Yet a few days of patience," said he, 
" and all these evils will suddenly have an end. 
I have been conferring with this holy man, and 
find that the time of our deliverance is at hand. 



HAMETS REPLY. 401 

The decrees of fate are inevitable ; it is written 
in the book of destiny, that we shall sally forth 
and destroy the camp of the unbelievers, and ban- 
quet upon those mountains of grain which are 
piled up in the midst of it. So Allah hath prom- 
ised, by the mouth of this his prophet. Allah 
Achbar ! God is great. Let no man oppose the 
decrees of Heaven ! " 

The citizens bowed with profound reverence, 
for no true Moslem pretends to struggle against 
whatever is written in the book of fate. Ali 
Dordux, who had come prepared to champion 
the city and to brave the ire of Hamet, humbled 
himself before this holy man, and gave faith to 
his prophecies as the revelations of Allah. So 
the deputies returned to the citizens, and exhorted 
them to be of good cheer : u A few days longer," 
said they, " and our sufferings are to terminate. 
When the white banner is removed from the 
tower, then look out for deliverance; for the 
hour of sallying forth will have arrived." The 
people retired to their homes, with sorrowful 
hearts ; they tried in vain to quiet the cries of 
their famishing children ; and day by day, and 
hour by hour, their anxious eyes were turned to 
the sacred banner, which still continued to wave 
on the tower of Gibralfaro. 



M 




CHAPTER LXIII. 

How Hainet ei Zegri sallied forth with the Sacred Banner, to 
attack the Christian Camp. 

HE Moorish nigromancer," observes the 
worthy Fray Antonio Agapida, " re- 
mained shut up in a tower of the Gibral- 
faro, devising devilish means to work mischief 
and discomfiture upon the Christians. He was 
daily consulted by Hamet, who had great faith in 
those black and magic arts, which he had brought 
with him from the bosom of heathen Africa." 

From the account given of this dervise and 
his incantations by the worthy father, it would 
appear that he was an astrologer, and was study- 
ing the stars, and endeavoring to calculate the 
day and hour when a successful attack might be 
made upon the Christian camp. 

Famine had now increased to such a degree 
as to distress even the garrison of Gibralfaro, 
although the Gomeres had seized upon all the 
provisions they could find in the city. Their 
passions were sharpened by hunger, and they 
became restless and turbulent, and impatient for 
action. 

Hamet was one day in council with bis cap- 
tains, perplexed by the pressure of events, when 



SALLY AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN CAMP. 403 

the dervise entered among them. " The hour of 
victory," exclaimed he, " is at hand. Allah has 
commanded that to-morrow morning ye shall 
sally forth to the fight. 1 will bear before you 
the sacred banner, and deliver your enemies into 
your hands. Remember, however, that ye are 
but instruments in the hands of Allah, to take 
vengeance on the enemies of the faith. Go into 
battle, therefore, with pure hearts, forgiving each 
other all past offenses ; for those who are charita- 
ble towards each other, will be victorious over 
the foe." The words of the dervise were re- 
ceived with rapture ; all Gibralfaro and the Alca- 
zaba resounded immediately with the din of arms ; 
and Hamet sent throughout the towers and for- 
tifications of the city and selected the choicest 
troops and most distinguished captains for this 
eventful combat. 

In the morning early, the rumor went through- 
out the city that the sacred banner had disap- 
peared from the tower of Gibralfaro, and all 
Malaga was roused to witness the sally that was 
to destroy the unbelievers. Hamet descended 
from his stronghold, accompanied by his principal 
captain, Ibrahim Zenete, and followed by his 
Gomeres. The dervise led the way, displaying 
the white banner, the sacred pledge of victory. 
The multitude shouted "Allah Achbar!" and 
prostrated themselves before the banner as it 
passed. Even the dreaded Hamet was hailed 
with praises ; for in their hopes of speedy relief 
through the prowess of his arm, the populace 
forgot everything but his bravery. Every bosom 



404 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

in Malaga was agitated by hope and fear — the 
old men, the women and children, and all who 
went not forth to battle, mounted on tower and 
battlement and roof, to watch a combat that was 
to decide their fate. 

Before sallying forth from the city, the dervise 
addressed the troops, reminding them of the holy 
nature of this enterprise, and warning them not 
to forfeit the protection of the sacred banner by 
any unworthy act. They were not to pause to 
make spoil nor to take prisoners : they were to 
press forward, fighting valiantly, and granting no 
quarter. The gate was then thrown open, and 
the dervise issued forth, followed by the army. 
They directed their assaults upon the encamp- 
ments of the master of Santiago and the master 
of Alcantara, and came upon them so suddenly 
that they killed and wounded several of the 
guards. Ibrahim Zenete made his way into one 
of the tents, where he beheld several Christian 
striplings just starting from their slumber. The 
heart of the Moor was suddenly touched with 
pity for their youth, or perhaps he scorned the 
weakness of the foe. He smote them with the 
flat instead of the edge of the sword. "Away, 
imps," cried he, " away to your mothers." The 
fanatic dervise reproached him with his clemency. 
'* I did not kill them," replied Zenete, " because I 
eaw no beards ! " 1 

The alarm was given in the camp, and the 
Christians rushed from all quarters to defend the 
gates of the bulwarks. Don Pedro Puerto Car- 
1 Cura de los Palacios, cap. 84. 



DESPERATE ATTACK AND REPULSE. 405 

rero, senior of Moguer, and his brother Don 
Alonzo Pacheco, planted themselves, with their 
followers, in the gateway of the encampment of 
the master of Santiago, and bore the whole brunt 
of battle until they were reinforced. The gate 
of the encampment of the master of Calatrava 
was in like manner defended by Lorenzo Saurez 
de Mendoza. Hamet was furious at being thus 
checked, where he had expected a miraculous 
victory. He led his troops repeatedly to the 
attack, hoping to force the gates before succor 
should arrive : they fought with vehement ardor, 
but were as often repulsed ; and every time they 
returned to the assault, they found their enemies 
doubled in number. The Christians opened a 
cross-fire of all kinds of missiles, from their bul- 
warks ; the Moors could effect but little damage 
upon a foe thus protected behind their works, 
while they themselves were exposed from head to 
foot. The Christians singled out the most con- 
spicuous cavaliers, the greater part of whom were 
either slain or wounded. Still the Moors, infatu- 
ated by the predictions of the prophet, fought 
desperately and devotedly, and they were furious 
to revenge the slaughter of their leaders. They 
rushed upon certain death, endeavoring madly to 
scale the bulwarks or force the gates, and fell 
amidst showers of darts and lances, filling the 
ditches with their mangled bodies. 

Hamet el Zegri raged along the front of the 
bulwarks, seeking au opening for attack. He 
gnashed his teeth with fury, as he saw so many 
of his chosen warriors slain around him. He 



406 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

seemed to have a charmed life ; for, though con- 
stantly in the hottest of the fight, amidst showers 
of missiles, he still escaped uninjured. Blindly 
confiding in the prophecy of victory, he continued 
to urge on his devoted troops. The dervise, too, 
ran like a maniac through the ranks, waving his 
white banner, and inciting the Moors by howlings 
rather than by shouts. " Fear not ! the victory 
is ours ! for so it is written ! " cried he. In the 
midst of his frenzy, a stone from a catapult struck 
him in the head,* and dashed out his bewildered 
brains. 1 

When the Moors beheld their prophet slain, 
and his banner in the dust, they were seized with 
despair, and fled in confusion to the city. Hamet 
el Zegri made some effort to rally them, but was 
himself confounded by the fall of the dervise. 
He covered the flight of his broken forces, turn- 
ing repeatedly upon their pursuers, and slowly 
making his retreat into the city. 

The inhabita-nts of Malaga witnessed from 
their walls, with trembling anxiety, the whole of 
this disastrous conflict. At the first onset, when 
they beheld the guards of the camp put to flight, 
they exclaimed, "Allah has given us the vic- 
tory ! " and they sent up shouts of triumph. 
Their exultation, however, was soon turned into 
doubt, when they beheld their troops repulsed in 
repeated attacks. They could see, from time to 
time, some distinguished warrior laid low, and 
others brought back bleeding to the city. When 
at length the sacred banner fell, and the routed 
i Garibay, lib. 18, c. 33. 



DESPAIR OF THE MOORS. 407 

troops came flying to the gates, pursued and cut 
down by the foe, horror and despair seized upon 
the populace. 

As Harriet entered the gates, he heard nothing 
but loud lamentations ; mothers, whose sons had 
been slain, shrieked curses after him as he passed ; 
some, in the anguish of their hearts, threw down 
their famishing babes before him, exclaiming, 
" Trample on them with thy horse's feet ; for wo 
have no food to give them, and we cannot endure 
their cries." All heaped execrations on his head, 
as the cause of the woes of Malaga. 

The warlike part of the citizens, also, and 
many warriors, who, with their wives and chil- 
dren, had taken refuge in Malaga from the moun- 
tain fortresses, now joined in the popular clamor, 
for their hearts were overcome by the sufferings 
of their families. 

Hamet el Zegri found it impossible to with- 
stand this torrent of lamentations, curses, and re- 
proaches. His military ascendency was at an 
end ; for most of his officers, and the prime war- 
riors of his African band, had fallen in this disas- 
trous sally. Turning his back, therefore, upon 
the city, and abandoning it to its own councils, 
he retired with the remnant of his Gomeres to 
his stronghold in the Gibralfaro. 






CHAPTER LXIV. 



How the City of Malaga capitulated. 




HE people of Malaga, being no longer 
overawed by Hamet el Zegri and his 
Gonieres, turned to Ali Dordux, the 
magnanimous merchant, and put the fate of the 
city into his hands. He had already gained the 
alcaydes of the castle of the Genoese and of the 
citadel into his party, and in the late confusion 
had gained the sway over those important for- 
tresses. He now associated himself with the 
alfaqui, Abraham Alhariz, and four of the prin- 
cipal inhabitants, and, forming a provisional junta, 
they sent heralds to the Christian sovereigns, 
offering to surrender the city on certain terms, 
protecting the persons and property of the in- 
habitants, permitting them to reside as Mudex 
ares or tributary vassals either in Malaga or 
elsewhere. 

When the heralds arrived at the camp, and 
made known their mission to King Ferdinand, 
his anger was kindled. " Return to your fellow 
citizens," said he, " and tell them that the day of 
grace is gone by. They have persisted in a 
fruitless defense until they are driven by neces- 
sity to capitulate ; they must surrender uncondi- 



FERDINAND REFUSES CONCESSIONS. 409 

tionally, and abide the fate of the vanquished 
Those who merit death shall suffer death ; those 
who merit captivity shall be made captives." 

This stern reply spread consternation among 
the people of Malaga ; but Ali Dordux comforted 
them, and undertook to go in person, and pray 
for favorable terms. When the people beheld 
this great and wealthy merchant, who was so 
eminent in their city, departing with his asso- 
ciates on this mission, they plucked up heart ; for 
they said, " Surely the Christian king will not 
iurn a deaf ear to such a man as Ali Dordux ! " 

Ferdinand, however, would not even admit the 
ambassadors to his presence. u Send them to the 
devil ! " said he, in a great passion, to the com- 
mander of Leon ; " I'll not see. them. Let them 
get back to their city. They shall all surrender 
to my mercy, as vanquished enemies." * 

To give emphasis to this reply, he ordered a 
general discharge from all the artillery and bat- 
teries ; and there was a great shout throughout 
the camp, and all the lombards and catapults, and 
other engines of war, thundered furiously upon 
the city, doing great damage. 

Ali Dordux and his companions returned to 
the city with downcast countenances, and could 
scarce make the reply of the Christian sovereign 
be heard, for the roaring of the artillery, the 
tumbling of the walls, and the cries of women 
and children. The citizens were greatly aston- 
ished and dismayed, when they fouud the little 
respect pail to their most eminent man; but the 
1 Cava dt los Palacios, cap. 84. 



4:10 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

warriors who were in the city exclaimed, " What 
has this merchant to do with questions between 
men of battle ? Let us not address the enemy 
as abject suppliants who have no power to injure, 
but as valiant men, who have weapons in their 
hands." 

So they dispatched another message to the 
Christian sovereigns, offering to yield up the city 
and all their effects, on condition of being secured 
in their personal liberty. Should this be denied, 
they declared they would hang from the battle- 
ments fifteen hundred Christian captives, male 
and female ; that they would put all their old 
men, their women, and children into the citadel, 
set fire to the city, and sally forth, sword in hand, 
to fight until the last gasp. " In this way," said 
they, " the Spanish sovereigns shall gain a bloody 
victory, and the fall of Malaga be renowned 
while the world endures." 

To this fierce and swelling message, Ferdinand 
replied, that if a single Christian captive were 
injured, not a Moor in Malaga but should be put 
to the edge of the sword. 

A great conflict of counsels now arose in Mal- 
aga. The warriors were for following up their 
menace by some desperate act of vengeance or 
of self-devotion. Those who had families looked 
with anguish upon their wives and daughters, 
and thought it better to die than to live to see 
them captives. By degrees, however, the tran- 
sports of passion and despair subsided, the love 
of life resumed its sway, and they turned once 
more to Ali Dordux, as the man most prudent in 



ISABELLA'S COMPASSION. 411 

council and able in negotiation. By his advice, 
fourteen of the principal inhabitants were chosen 
from the fourteen districts of the city, and sent 
to the camp, bearing a long letter, couched in 
terms of the most humble supplication. 

Various debates now took place in the Chris- 
tian camp. Many of the cavaliers were exas- 
perated against Malaga for its long resistance, 
which had caused the death of many of their 
relatives and favorite companions. It had long 
been a stronghold, also, for Moorish depredators, 
and the mart where most of the warriors cap- 
tured in the Axarquia had been exposed in tri-. 
umph and sold to slavery. They represented, 
moreover, that there were many Moorish cities 
yet to be besieged ; and that an example ought 
to be made of Malaga, to prevent all obstinate 
, resistance thereafter. They advised, therefore, 
that all the inhabitants should be put to the 
! sword ! 1 

The humane heart of Isabella revolted at such 
sanguinary counsels : she insisted that their tri- 
umph should not be disgraced by cruelty. Fer- 
dinand, however, was inflexible in refusing to 
grant any preliminary terms, insisting on an un- 
conditional surrender. 

The people of Malaga now abandoned them- 
selves to paroxysms of despair ; on one side they 
saw famine and death, on the other slavery and 
chains. The mere men of the sword, who had 
no families to protect, were loud for signalizing 
their fall by some illustrious action. " Let us 
1 Pulgar. 



L 



412 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

sacrifice our Christian captives, and then destroy 
ourselves," cried some. " Let us put all the 
women and children to death, set fire to the city, 
fall on the Christian camp, and die sword in 
hand," cried others. 

Ali Dordux gradually made his voice be heard, 
amidst the general clamor. He addressed him- 
self to the principal inhabitants, and to those who 
had children. " Let those who live by the sword, 
die by the sword," cried he ; " but let us not fol- 
low their desperate counsels. Who knows what 
sparks of pity may be awakened in the bosoms of v 
the Christian sovereigns, when they behold our 
unoffending wives and daughters, and our help- 
less little ones ! The Christian queen, they say, 
is full of mercy." 

At these words, the hearts of the unhappy peo- 
ple of Malaga yearned over their families, and 
they empowered Ali Dordux to deliver up their 
city to the mercy of the Castilian sovereigns. 

The merchant now went to and fro, and had 
several communications with Ferdinand and 
Isabella and interested several principal cavaliers 
in his cause ; and he sent rich presents to the 
king and queen, of oriental merchandise, and 
silks and stuffs of gold, and jewels and precious 
stones, and spices and perfumes, and many other 
sumptuous things, which he had accumulated in 
his great tradings with the East ; and he gradu- 
ally found favor in the eyes of the sovereigns. 1 
Finding that there was nothing to be obtained 
for the city, he now, like a prudent man and able 
1 MS. Chron. of Valera. 



MALAGA SURRENDERS. 413 

merchant, began to negotiate for himself and his 
immediate friends. He represented that from 
the first they had been desirous of yielding up 
the city, but had been prevented by warlike and 
high-handed men, who had threatened their lives ; 
he entreated, therefore, that mercy might be ex- 
tended to them, and that they might not be con- 
founded with the guilty. 

The sovereigns had accepted the presents of 
Ali Dordux — how could they then turn a deaf 
ear to his petition? So they granted a pardon to 
him, and to forty families which he named ; and 
it was agreed that they should be protected in 
their liberties and property, and permitted to re- 
side in Malaga as Mudexares or Moslem vassals, 
and to follow their customary pursuits. 1 All 
this being arranged, Ali Dordux delivered up 
twenty of the principal inhabitants, to remain as 
hostages, until the whole city should be placed 
in the possession of the Christians. 

Don Gutierrez de Cardenas, senior comman- 
der of Leon, now entered the city, armed cap-a- 
pie, on horseback, and took possession in the 
name of the Castilian sovereigns. He was fol* 
lowed by his retainers, and by the captains and 
cavaliers of the army ; and in a little while, the 
standards of the cross and of the blessed Santiago, 
and of the Catholic sovereigns, were elevated on 
the principal tower of the Alcazaba. When 
these standards were beheld from the camp, the 
queen and the princess and the ladies of the court, 
and all the royal retinue, knelt down and gave 
1 Cura de los Fellatios, cap. 84. 



414 



CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



thanks and praises to the holy virgin and to 
Santiago, for this great triumph of the faith ; and 
the bishops and other clergy who were present, 
and the choristers of the royal chapel, chanted 
" Te Deum Laudamus" and " Gloria in Excel* 





CHAPTER LXV. 

Fulfillment of the Prophecy of the Dervise.— Fate of Hamet 
el Zegri. 

jO sooner was the city delivered up, than 
the wretched inhabitants implored per- 
mission to purchase bread for them- 
selves and their children, from the heaps of grain 
which they had so often gazed at wistfully from 
their walls. Their prayer was granted, and they is- 
sued forth with the famished eagerness of starving 
men. It was piteous to behold the struggles of 
those unhappy people, as they contended who 
first should have their necessities relieved. 

" Thus " says the pious Fray Antonio Agapida, 
" thus are the predictions of false prophets some- 
times permitted to be verified, but always to the 
confusion of those who trust in them : for the 
words of the Moorish nigromancer came to pass, 
that the people of Malaga should eat of those 
heaps of bread ; but they ate in humiliation and 
defeat, and with sorrow and bitterness of heart." 

Dark and fierce were the feelings of Hamet el 
Zegri, as he looked down from the castle of Gib- 
ralfaro, and beheld the Christian legions pouring 
into the city, and the standard of the cross sup- 
planting the crescent on the citadel. " The people 
of Malaga," said he, " have trusted to a man of 



416 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

trade, and he lias trafficked them away ; but let 
us not suffer ourselves to be bound hand and foot, 
and delivered up as part of his bargain. We 
have yet strong walls around us, and trusty 
weapons in our hands. Let us fight until buried 
beneath the last tumbling tower of Gibralfaro, 
or, rushing down from among its ruins, carry 
havoc among the unbelievers, as they throng the 
streets of Malaga ! " 

The fierceness of the Gomeres, however, was 
broken. They could have died in the breach, 
had their castle been assailed ; but the slow ad- 
vances of famine subdued their strength without 
rousing their passions, and sapped the force both 
of soul and body. They were almost unanimous 
for a surrender. 

It was a hard struggle for the proud spirit of 
Hamet, to bow itself to ask for terms. Still he 
trusted that the valor of his defense would gain 
him respect in the eyes of a chivalrous foe. 
" Ali," said he, " has negotiated like a merchant ; 
I will capitulate as a soldier." He sent a herald, 
therefore, to Ferdinand, offering to yield up his 
castle, but demanding a separate treaty. 1 The 
Castilian sovereign made a laconic and stern 
reply : " He shall receive no terms but such as 
have been granted to the community of Malaga." 

For two days Hamet el Zegri remained brood- 
ing in his castle, after the city was in possession 
of the Christians ; at length, the clamors of his 
followers compelled him to surrender. When 
the remnant of this fierce African garrison de- 
1 Cura de los Palacios, cap. 84. 



FATE OF HA MET EL ZEGRL 417 

scended from their cragged fortress, they were so 
worti by watchfulness, famine, and battle, yet 
carried such a lurking fury in their eyes, that 
they looked more like fiends than men _ They 
were all condemned to slavery, excepting Ibrahim 
Zenete. The instance of clemency which he had 
shown in refraining to harm the Spanish strip- 
lings, on the last sally from Malaga, won him 
favorable terms. It was cited as a magnanimous 
act by the Spanish cavaliers, and all admitted, 
that though a Moor in blood, he possessed the 
Christian heart of a Castilian hidalgo. 1 

As to Ha met el Zegri, on being asked what 
moved him to such hardened obstinacy, he replied, 
" When I undertook my command, I pledged my- 
self to fight in defense of my faith, my city, and 
my sovereign, until slain or made prisoner ; and 
depend upon it, had I had men to stand by me, 
I should have died fighting, instead of thus tamely 
surrendering myself without a weapon in my 
hand." 

u Such," says the pious Fray Antonio Agapida, 
" was the diabolical hatred and stiff-necked op- 
position of this infidel to our holy cause. . But 
he was justly served by our most Catholic and 
high-minded sovereign, for his pertinacious de- 
fense of the city ; for Ferdinand ordered that he 
should be loaded with chains and thrown into a 
dungeon." He was subsequently retained in 
rigorous confinement at Carmona. 2 

1 Cura de los Palacios, cap. 84. 

2 Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 93. Pietro Martyr, lib. 1, cap. 69. 

Alcantara, Hist. Granada, vol. 4, c. 18. 





CHAPTER LXVI. 

How the Castilian Sovereigns took Possession of the City of 
Malaga, and how King Ferdinand signalized himself by his 
Skill in bargaining with the Inhabitants for their Ransom. 

NE of the first cares of the conquerors, 
on entering Malaga, was to search for 
Christian captives. Nearly sixteen hun- 
dred men and women were found, and among them 
were persons of distinction. Some of them had 
been ten, fifteen, and twenty years in captivity. 
Many had been servants to the Moors, or labor- 
ers on public works, and some had passed their 
time in chains and dungeons. Preparations were 
made to celebrate their deliverance as a Christian 
triumph. A tent was erected not far from the 
city, and furnished with an altar and all the sol- 
emn decorations of a chapel. Here the king and 
queen waited to receive the Christian captives. 
They were assembled in the city, and marshaled 
forth in piteous procession. Many of them had 
still the chains and shackles on their legs ; they 
were wasted with famine, their hair and beards 
overgrown and matted, and their faces pale and 
haggard from long confinement. When they 
found themselves restored to liberty, and sur- 
rounded by their countrymen, some stared wildly 
about as if in a dream, others gave way to frantic 
transports, but most of them wept for joy. All 



RELEASE OF CHRISTIAN CAPTIVES, 419 

present were moved to tears, by so touching a 
spectacle. When the procession arrived at what 
is called the Gate of Granada, it was met by a 
great concourse from the camp, with crosses and 
pennons, who turned and followed the captives, 
singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving. When 
they came in presence of the king and queen, 
they threw themselves on their knees and would 
have kissed their feet, as their saviors and de- 
liverers ; but the sovereigns prevented such hu- 
miliation, and graciously extended to them their 
hands. They then prostrated themselves before 
the altar, and all present joined them in giving 
thanks to God for their liberation from this 
cruel bondage. By orders of the king and queen, 
their chains were then taken off, and they were 
chid in decent raiment, and, food was set before 
them. After they had ate and drunk, and were 
refreshed and invigorated, they were provided 
with money and all things necessary for their 
journey, and sent joyfully to their homes. 

While the old chroniclers dwell with becoming 
enthusiasm on this pure and affecting triumph of 
humanity, they go on, in a strain of equal eulogy, 
to describe a spectacle of a far different nature. 
It so happened, that there were found in the city 
twelve of those renegado Christians who had de- 
serted to the Moors, and conveyed false intel- 
ligence, during the siege : a barbarous species of 
punishment was inflicted upon them, borrowed, it 
is said, from the Moors, and peculiar to these wars. 
They were tied to stakes in a public place, and 
horsemen exercised their skill in transpiercing 



420 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

them with pointed reeds, hurled at them while 
careering at full speed, until the miserable victims 
expired beneath their wounds. Several apostate 
Moors, also, who, having embraced Christianity, 
had afterwards relapsed into their early faith, and 
had taken refuge in Malaga from the vengeance 
of the Inquisition, were publicly burnt. " These/' 
says an old Jesuit historian, exultingly, " these 
were the tilts of reeds and the illuminations most 
pleasing for this victorious festival, and for the 
Catholic piety of our sovereigns ! " 1 

When the city was cleansed from the impurities 
and offensive odors which had collected during 
the siege, the bishops and other clergy who ac- 
companied the court, and the choir of the royal 
chapel, walked in procession to the principal 
mosque, which was consecrated, and entitled Santa 
Maria de la Incarnacion. This done, the king 
and queen entered the city, accompanied by the 
grand cardinal of Spain, and the principal nobles 
and cavaliers of the army, and heard a solemn 
mass. The church was then elevated into a 
cathedral, and Malaga was made a bishopric, and 
many of the neighboring towns were compre- 
hended in its diocese. The queen took up her 
residence in the Alcazaba, in the apartments of 
her valiant treasurer, Ruy Lopez, whence she had 
a view of the whole city; but the king established 
his quarters in the warrior castle of Gibralfaro. 

1 " Los renegados fuernon acaflavareados : y los conversos 
quemados; y estos fueron las canas, y luminarias mas alegres, 
por la fiesta de la vitoria para la piedad Catholica de nuestros 
Reyes." — Abarca, Anales de Aragon, torn. 2, Rey xxx., C. 3. 



DISPOSITION OF THE PRISONERS. 421 

And now came to be considered the disposition 
of the Moorish prisoners. All those who were 
strangers in the city, and had either taken refuge 
there, or had entered to defend it, were at once 
considered slaves. They were divided into three 
lots: one was set apart for the service of God, in 
redeeming Christian captives from bondage, either 
in the kingdom of Granada or in Africa ; the sec- 
ond lot was divided among those who had aided 
cither in field or cabinet, in the present siege, ac- 
cording to their rank ; the third was appropriated 
to defray, by their sale, the great expenses in- 
curred in the reduction of the place. A hundred 
of the Gomeres were sent as presents to Pope 
Innocent VIIL, and were led in triumph through 
the streets of Rome, and afterwards converted to 
Christianity. Fifty Moorish maidens were sent 
to the queen Joanna of Naples, sister to king 
Ferdinand, and thirty to the queen of Portugal. 
Isabella made presents of others to the ladies 
of her household, and of the noble families of 
Spain. 

Among the inhabitants of Malaga were four 
hundred and fifty Moorish Jews, for the most part 
women, speaking the Arabic language, and dressed 
in the Moresco fashion. These were ransomed 
by a wealthy Jew of Castile, farmer-general of 
the royal revenues derived from the Jews of 
Spain. He agreed to make up, within a certain 
time, the sum of twenty thousand doblas, or pis- 
toles of gold ; all the money and jewels of the 
captives being taken in part payment. They 
were sent to Castile, in two armed galleys. As 



422 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

to Ali Dordux, such favors and honors were 
heaped upon him by the Spanish sovereigns for 
his considerate mediation in the surrender, that 
the disinterestedness of his conduct has often been 
called in question. He was appointed chief justice 
and alcayde of the Mudaxares or Moorish subjects, 
and was presented with twenty houses, one public 
bakery, and several orchards, vineyards, and tracts 
of open country. He retired to Antiquera, where 
he died several years afterwards, leaving his estate 
and name to his son Mohammed Dordux. The 
latter embraced the Christian faith, as did his wife, 
the daughter of a Moorish noble. On being 
baptized he received the name of Don Fernando 
de Malaga, his wife that of Isabella, after the 
queen. They were incorporated with the nobility 
of Castile, and their descendants still bear the 
name of Malaga. 1 

As to the great mass of Moorish inhabitants, 
they implored that they might not be scattered 
and sold into captivity, but might be permitted to 
ransom themselves by an amount paid within a 
certain time. Upon this, king Ferdinand took 
the advice of certain of his ablest counselors : 
they said to him, " If you hold out a prospect of 
hopeless captivity, the infidels will throw all their 
gold and jewels into wells and pits, and you will 
lose the greater part of the spoil ; but if you ^x 
a general rate of ransom, and receive their money 
and jewels in part payment, nothing will be de- 
stroyed. The king relished greatly this advice ; 

1 Conversaciones Malagueiias, 26, as cited by Alcantara in 
^is History of Granada, vol. 4, c. 1& 



HARD CONDITIONS, 423 

and it was arranged that all the inhabitants should 
be ransomed at the general rate of thirty doblas 
or pistoles in gold for each individual, male or 
female, large or small ; that all their gold, jewels, 
and other valuables, should be received immedi- 
ately in part payment of the general amount, and 
that the residue should be paid within eight 
months ; that if any of the number, actually liv- 
ing, should die in the interim, their ransom should 
nevertheless be paid. If, however, the whole of 
the amount were not paid at the expiration of the 
eight months, they should all be considered and 
treated as slaves. 

The unfortunate Moors were eager to catch 
at the least hope of future liberty, and consented 
to these hard conditions. The most rigorous pre- 
cautions were taken to exact them to the utter- 
most. The inhabitants were numbered by houses 
and families, and their names taken down ; their 
most precious effects were made up into parcels, 
and sealed and inscribed with their names ; and 
they were ordered to repair with them to certain 
large corrales or inclosures adjoining the Alcazaba, 
which were surrounded by high walls and over- 
looked by watch-towers, to which places the caval- 
gadas of Christian captives had usually been 
driven, to be confined until the time of sale, like 
cattle in a market. The Moors were obliged to 
leave their houses one by one ; all their money, 
necklaces, bracelets, and anklets of gold, pearl, 
2oral, and precious slones, were taken from them 
at the threshold, and their persons so rigorously 
searched that they carried off nothing concealed. 



424 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Then might be seen old men and helpless 
women, and tender maidens, some of high birth 
and gentle condition, passing through the streets, 
heavily burdened, towards the Alcazaba. As 
they left their homes, they smote their breasts, 
and wrung their hands, and raised their weeping 
eyes to Heaven in anguish ; and this is recorded 
as their plaint: "O Malaga! city so renowned 
and beautiful ! where now is the strength of thy 
castle, where the grandeur of thy towers? Of 
what avail have been thy mighty walls, for the 
protection of thy children ! Behold them driven 
from thy pleasant abodes, doomed to drag out a 
life of bondage in a foreign land, and to die far 
from the home of their infancy ! What will be- 
come of thy old men and matrons, when their 
gray hairs shall be no longer reverenced? What 
will become of thy maidens, so delicately reared 
and tenderly cherished, when reduced to hard 
and menial servitude ? Behold, thy once happy 
families scattered asunder, never again to he 
united ; sons separated from their fathers, hus- 
bands from their wives, and tender children from 
their mothers : they will bewail each other in 
foreign lands, but their lamentations will be the 
scoff of the stranger. O Malaga ! city of our 
birth ! who can behold thy desolation, and not 
shed tears of bitterness!" 1 

When Malaga was completely secured, a de- 
tachment was sent against two fortresses near the 
sea, called Mixas and Osuna, which had fre- 
quently harassed the Christian camp. The in- 
Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, c. 93. 






FINAL DISPOSITION OF THE PRISONERS. 425 

habitants were threatened with the sword, unless 
l hey instantly surrendered. They claimed the 
*ame terms that had been granted to Malaga, 
imagining them to be freedom of person and se- 
curity of property. Their claim was granted ; 
they were transported to Malaga with all their 
riches, and, on arriving there, were overwhelmed 
with consternation at finding themselves captives. 
M Ferdinand," observes Fray Antonio Agapida, 
" was a man of his word ; they were shut up in 
the inclosure at the Alcazaba, with the people of 
Malaga, and shared their fate." 

The unhappy captives remained thus crowded 
in the court-yards of the Alcazaba, like sheep in 
a fold, until they could be sent by sea and land 
to Seville. They were then distributed about in 
city and country, each Christian family having 
one or more to feed and maintain as servants, 
until the term fixed for the payment of the resi- 
due of the ransom should expire. The captives 
had obtained permission that several of their 
number should go about among the Moorish 
towns of the kingdom of Granada, collecting 
contributions to aid in the purchase of their liber- 
ties ; but these towns were too much impover- 
ished by the war, and engrossed by their own 
distresses, to lend a listening ear : so the time 
expired without the residue of the ransom being 
paid, and all the captives of Malaga, to the num- 
ber, as some say, of eleven, and others of fifteen 
thousand, became slaves ! " Never," exclaims 
the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida, in one of his 
usual bursts of zeal and loyalty, " never has 



426 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

there been recorded a more adroit and sagacious 
arrangement than this made by the Catholic 
monarch, by which he not only secured all the 
property and half of the ransom of these infidels, 
but finally got possession of their persons into 
the bargain. This truly may be considered one 
of the greatest triumphs of the pious and politic 
Ferdinand, and as raising him above the general- 
ity of conquerors, who have merely the valor to 
gain victories, but lack the prudence and man- 
agement necessary to turn them to account." l 

1 The detestable policy of Ferdinand in regard to the 
Moorish captives of Malaga is recorded at length by the cu- 
rate of los Palacios (c. 87), a contemporary, a zealous admirer 
of the king, and one of the most honest of chroniclers ; who 
really thought he was recording a notable instance of saga- 
cious piety. 



<#> 




CHAPTER LXVII. 



How King Ferdinand prepared to cany the War into a Dif- 
ferent Part of the Territories of the Moors. 




HE western part of the kingdom of Gra- 
nada had now been conquered by the 
Christian arms. The seaport of Malaga 
was captured ; the fierce and warlike inhabitants 
of the Serrania de Ronda, and the other moun- 
tain-holds of the frontier, were all disarmed, and 
reduced to peaceful and laborious vassalage ; their 
haughty fortresses, which had so long overawed 
the valleys of Andalusia, now displayed the stan- 
dard of Castile and Aragon ; the watch-towers, 
which crowned every height, whence the infidels 
had kept a vulture eye over the Christian terri- 
tories, were now either dismantled, or garrisoned 
with Catholic troops. " What signalized and 
sanctified this great triumph," adds the worthy 
Fray Antonio Agapida, " were the emblems of 
ecclesiastical domination which everywhere ap- 
peared. In every direction rose stately convents 
and monasteries, those fortresses of the faith, gar- 
risoned by its spiritual soldiery of monks and 
friars. The sacred melody of Christian bells was 
again heard among the mountains, calling to early 



428 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

matins, or sounding the Angeles at the solemn 
hour of evening." 1 

While this part of the kingdom was thus re- 
duced by the Christian sword, the central part, 
round the city of Granada, forming the heart of 
the Moorish territory, was held in vassalage of 
the Castilian monarch, by Boabdil surnamed el 
Chico. That unfortunate prince lost no occasion 
to propitiate the conquerors of his country by 
acts of homage, and by professions that must have 
been foreign to his heart. No sooner had he 
heard of the capture of Malaga, than he sent 
congratulations to the Catholic sovereigns, accom- 
panied with presents of horses richly caparisoned 
for the king, and precious cloth of gold and orien- 
tal perfumes for the queen. His congratulations 
and his presents were received with the utmost 
graciousness ; and the short-sighted prince, lulled 
by the temporary and politic forbearance of Fer- 
dinand, flattered himself that he was securing the 
lasting friendship of that monarch. 

The policy of Boabdil had its transient and su- 
perficial advantages. The portion of Moorish ter- 
ritory under his immediate sway had a respite from 
the calamities of war : the husbandmen cultivated 
their luxuriant fields in security, and the vega of 
Granada once more blossomed like the rose. The 
merchants again carried on a gainful traffic ; the 
gates of the city were thronged with beasts of bur- 
den, bringing the rich products of every clime. 

1 The worthy curate of los Palacios intimates in his Chron- 
icle, that this melody, so grateful to the ears of pious Chris- 
tians, was a source of perpetual torment to the ears of infidels. 



EL ZAGAL'S TERRITORIES. 429 

Yet, while the people of Granada rejoiced in their 
teeming fields and crowded marts, they secretly- 
despised the policy which procured them these 
advantages, and held Boabdil for little better 
than an apostate and an unbeliever. Muley Ab- 
dallah el Zagal was now the hope of the uncon- 
quered part of the kingdom ; and every Moor, 
whose spirit was not quite subdued with his for- 
tunes, lauded the valor of the old monarch, and 
his fidelity to the faith, and wished success to his 
standard. 

El Za^al, thouo'h he no longer sat enthroned 
in the Alhambra, yet reigned over more consider- 
able domains than his nephew. His territories 
extended from the frontiers of Jaen along the 
borders of Murcia to the Mediterranean, and 
reached into the centre of the kingdom. On the 
northeast he held the cities of Baza and Guadix 
situated in the midst of fertile regions. He had 
the important seaport of Almeria, also, which at 
one time rivaled Granada itself in wealth and 
population. Besides these, his territories included 
a great part of the Alpuxarra mountains, which 
extend across the kingdom and shoot out branches 
towards the sea-coast. This mountainous region 
was a stronghold of wealth and power. Its stern 
and rocky heights, rising to the clouds, seemed to 
set invasion at defiance ; yet within their rugged 
embraces were sheltered delightful valleys, of the 
happiest temperature and richest fertility. The 
cool springs and limpid rills which gushed out in 
all parts of the mountains, and the abundant 
streams, which, for a great part of the year, were 



430 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

supplied by the Sierra Nevada, spread a perpetual 
verdure over the skirts and slopes of the hills, and, 
collecting in silver rivers in the valleys, wound 
along among plantations of mulberry trees, and 
groves of oranges and citrons, of almonds, figs, 
and pomegranates. Here was produced the finest 
silk of Spain, which gave employment to thou- 
sands of manufacturers. The sunburnt sides of 
the hills, also, were covered with vineyards ; the 
abundant herbage of the mountain ravines, and 
the rich pasturage of the valleys, fed vast flocks 
and herds ; and even the arid and rocky bosoms 
of the heights teemed with wealth, from the mines 
of various metals with which they were impreg- 
nated. In a word, the Alpuxarra mountains Tiad 
ever been the great source of revenue to the mon- 
archs of Granada. Their inhabitants, also, were 
hardy and warlike, and a sudden summons from 
the Moorish king could at any time call forth fifty 
thousand fighting men from their rocky fastnesses. 

Such was the rich but rugged fragment of an 
empire which remained under the sway of the old 
warrior monarch El Zagal. The mountain bar- 
riers by which it was locked up, had protected it 
from most of the ravages of the present war. El 
Zagal prepared himself, by strengthening every 
fortress, to battle fiercely for its maintenance. 

The Catholic sovereigns saw that fresh troubles 
and toils awaited them. The war had to be car- 
ried into a new quarter demanding immense ex- 
penditures ; and new ways and means must be 
devised to replenish their exhausted coffers. " As 
this was a holy war, however," says Fray Antonio 



PUNISHMENT OF JUDAISM. 431 

Agapida, " and peculiarly redounded to the pros- 
perity of the church, the clergy were full of zeal, 
and contributed vast sums of money and large 
bodies of troops. A pious fund was also produced, 
from the first fruits of that glorious institution, 
the Inquisition." 

It so happened, that about this time there were 
many families of wealth and dignity in the king- 
doms of Aragon and Valentia, and the principality 
of Catalonia, whose forefathers had been Jews, 
but had been converted to Christianity. Not- 
withstanding the outward piety of these families, 
it was surmised, and soon came to be strongly sus- 
pected, that many of them had a secret hankering 
after Judaism ; and it was even whispered, that 
some of them practiced Jewish rites in private. 

The Catholic monarch (continues Agapida) had 
a righteous abhorrence of all kinds of heresy, and a 
fervent zeal for the faith : he ordered, therefore, a 
strict investigation of the conduct of these pseudo 
Christians. Inquisitions were sent into these 
provinces for the purpose, who proceeded with 
their accustomed zeal. The consequence was, that 
many families were convicted of apostacy from the 
Christian faith, and of the private practice of 
Judaism. Some, who had grace and policy suffi- 
cient to reform in time, were again received into 
the Christian fold, after being severely mulcted 
and condemned to heavy penance ; others were 
burnt at auto de fes, for the edification of the 
public, and their property was confiscated for the 
good of the state. 

As these Hebrews were of great wealth, and had 



432 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

an hereditary passion for jewelry, there was found 
abundant store in their possession of gold and sil- 
ver, of rings and necklaces, and strings of pearl 
and coral, and precious stones ; — treasures easy of 
transportation, and wonderfully adapted for the 
emergencies of war. " In this way," concludes 
the pious Agapida, " these backsliders, by the 
all-seeing contrivances of Providence, were made 
to serve the righteous cause which they had so 
treacherously deserted ; and their apostate wealth 
was sanctified by being devoted to the service of 
Heaven and the crown, in this holy crusade 
against the infidels." 

It must be added, however, that these pious 
financial expedients received some check from ttie 
interference of queen Isabella. Her penetrating 
eyes discovered that many enormities had been 
committed under color of religious zeal, and many 
innocent persons accused by false witnesses of 
apostacy, either through malice or a hope of ob- 
taining their wealth : she caused strict investiga- 
tion, therefore Into the proceedings which had 
been held ; many of which were reversed, and 
Buborners punished in proportion to their guilt. 1 
i Pulgar, pt. 3, c 100, 




CHAPTER LXVIIL 

How King Ferdinand invaded the Eastern Side of the King- 
dom of Granada, and how he was received bv El Zagal. 




^ULEY ABDALLAH EL ZAGAL," 

says the venerable Jesuit father, Pedro 
Aharca, " was the most venomous Ma- 
hometan in all Morisma:" and the worthy Fray 
Antonio Agapida most devoutly echoes his opin- 
ion. '" Certainly," adds the latter, u none ever 
opposed a more heathenish and diabolical obsti- 
nacy to the holy inroads of the cross and sword." 
El Zagal felt that it was necessary to do some- 
thing to quicken his popularity with the people, 
and that nothing was more effectual than a suc- 
cessful inroad. The Moors loved the stirring call 
to arms, and a wild foray among the mountains ; 
and delighted more in a hasty spoil, wrested with 
hard fighting from the Christians, than in all the 
steady and certain gains secured by peaceful traf- 
fic. 

There reigned at this time a careless security 
along the frontier of Jaen. The alcaydes of the 
Christian fortresses were confident of the friend- 
ship of Boabdil el Chico, and they fancied his 
uncle too distant and too much engrossed by his 
own perplexities, to think of molesting them. On 

a sudden, El Zagal issued out of Guadix with a 

28 



43 i CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

chosen band, passed rapidly through the moun- 
tains which extend behind Granada, and fell like 
a thunderbolt upon the territories in the neigh- 
borhood of Alcala la Real. Before the alarm 
could be spread and the frontier roused, he had 
made a wide career of destruction through the 
country, sacking and burning villages, sweeping 
off flocks and herds, and carrying away captives. 
The warriors of the frontier assembled ; but El 
Zagal was already far on his return through the 
mountains, and he reentered the gates of Gua- 
dix in triumph, his army laden with Christian 
spoil, and conducting an immense cavalgada. 
Such was one of El Zagal's preparatives for the 
expected invasion of the Christian king, exciting 
the warlike spirit of his people, and gaining for 
himself a transient popularity. 

King Ferdinand assembled his army at Murcia, 
in the spring of 1488. He left that city on the 
fifth of June, with a flying camp of four thousand 
horse and fourteen thousand foot. The marques 
of Cadiz led the van, followed by the adelantado 
of Murcia. The army entered the Moorish fron- 
tier by the sea-coast, spreading terror through the 
land ; wherever it appeared the towns surrendered 
without a blow, so great was the dread of experi- 
encing the woes which had desolated the opposite 
frontier. In this way, Vera, Velez el Rubio, 
Velez el Blanco, and many towns of inferior note, 
to the number of sixty, yielded at the first sum- 
mons. 

It was not until it approached Almeria, that 
the army met with resistance. This important 



FERDINAND MEETS EL ZAGAL. 435 

city was commanded by the prince Zelim, a rela- 
tion of EL Zagal. He led forth his Moors bravely 
to the encounter, and skirmished fiercely with^the 
advanced guard in the gardens near the city. 
King Ferdinand came up with the main body of 
the army, and called off his troops from the skir- 
mish. He saw that to attack the place with his 
present force was fruitless. Having reconnoitered 
the city and its environs, therefore, against a fu- 
ture campaign, he retired with his army and 
marched towards Baza. 

The old warrior El Zagal was himself drawn 
up in the city of Baza, with a powerful garrison. 
He felt confidence in the strength of the place, 
and rejoiced when he heard that the Christian 
king was approaching, In the valley in front of 
Baza, there extended a great tract of gardens, 
like a continued grove, intersected by canals and 
water-courses. In this he stationed an ambuscade 
of arquebussiers and cross-bowmen. The van- 
guard of the Christian army came marching gayly 
up the valley, with great sound of drum and 
trumpet, and led on by the marques of Cadiz and 
the adelantado of Murcia. As they drew near, El 
Zagal sallied forth with horse and foot, and at- 
tacked them for a time with great spirit. Gradu- 
ally falling back, as if pressed by their superior 
valor, he drew the exulting Christians among the 
gardens. Suddenly the Moors in ambuscade burst 
from their concealment, and opened such a fire in 
flank and rear, that many of the Christians were 
slain, and the rest thrown into confusion. King 
Ferdinand arrived in time to see the disastrous 



436 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

situation of his troops, and gave signal for the 
van-guard to retire. 

El Zagal did not permit the foe to draw off un- 
molested. Ordering out fresh squadrons, he fell 
upon the rear of the retreating troops with tri- 
umphant shouts, driving them before him with 
dreadful havoc. The old war-cry of " El Zagal ! 
El Zagal ! " was again put up by the Moors, and 
echoed with transport from the walls of the city. 
The Christians were in imminent peril of a com- 
plete rout, when fortunately the adelantado of 
Murcia threw himself with a large body of horse 
and foot between the pursuers and the pursued, 
covering the retreat of the latter and giving them 
time to rally. The Moors were now attacked so 
vigorously in turn, that they gave over the contest, 
and drew back slowly into the city. Many val- 
iant cavaliers were slain in this skirmish ; among 
the number was Don Philip of Aragon, master of 
the chivalry of St. George of Montesor ; he was 
illegitimate son of the king's illegitimate brother 
Don Carlos, and his death was greatly bewailed 
by Ferdinand. He had formerly been archbishop 
of Palermo, but had doffed the cassock for the 
cuirass, and, according to Fray Antonio Agapida, 
had gained a glorious crown of martyrdom by 
falling in this holy war. 

The warm reception of his advance guard, 
brought king Ferdinand to a pause : he encamped 
on the banks of the neighboring river Guadal- 
quiton, and began to consider whether he had 
acted wisely in undertaking this campaign with 
his present force. His late successes had prob- 



CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN. 437 

ably iendered him over-confident: El Zagal had 
again schooled him into his characteristic caution. 
He saw that the old warrior was too formidably 
ensconced in Baza, to be dislodged by anything 
except a powerful army and battering artillery ; 
and he feared, that should he persist in his inva- 
sion, some disaster might befall his army, either 
from the enterprise of the foe, or from a pesti- 
lence which prevailed in various parts of the 
country. He retired, therefore, from before 
Baza, as he had on a former occasion from before 
Loxa, all the wiser for a wholesome lesson in 
warfare, but by no means grateful to those who 
had given it, and with a solemn determination to 
have his revenge upon his teachers, 

He now took measures for the security of the 
places gained in this campaign ; placing in them 
strong garrisons, well-armed and supplied, charg- 
ing their alcaydes to be vigilant on their posts 
and to give no rest to the enemy. The whole of 
the frontier was placed under the command of 
Luiz Fernandez Puerto Carrero. As it was 
evident, from the warlike character of El Zagal, 
that there would be abundance of active service 
and hard fighting, many hidalgos and young cav- 
aliers, eager for distinction, remained with Puerto 
Carrero. 

All these dispositions being made, king Fer- 
dinand closed the dubious campaign of this year, 
not, as usual, by returning in triumph at the head 
of his army to some important city of his domin- 
ions, but by disbanding the troops, and repairing 
to pray at the cross of Caravaca. 



CHAPTER LXIX. 

How the Moors made various Enterprises against the Chris- 
tians. 




HILE the pious king Ferdinand," ob- 
serves Fray Antonio Agapida, * was 
humbling himself before the cross, and 
devoutly praying for the destruction of his ene- 
mies, that fierce pagan, El Zagal, depending 
merely on arm of flesh and sword of steel, pur- 
sued his diabolical outrages upon the Christians. ,, 
No sooner was the invading army disbanded than 
he sallied forth from his stronghold, and carried 
fire and sword into all those parts which had 
submitted to the Spanish yoke. The castle of 
Nixar, being carelessly guarded, was taken by 
surprise, and its garrison put to the sword. The 
old warrior raged with sanguinary fury about the 
whole frontier, attacking convoys, slaying, wound 
ing, and making prisoners, and coming by sur- 
prise upon the Christians wherever they were off 
their guard. 

Carlos de Biedma, alcayde of the fortress of 
Culla, confiding in the strength of its walls and 
towers, and in its difficult situation, being built 
on the summit of a lofty hill, and surrounded by 
precipices, ventured to absent himself from his 



EL ZAGAL 1 S ATTACK ON CULLA. 439 

post. He was engaged to be married to a fair 
and noble lady of Baeza, and repaired to that 
city to celebrate his nuptials, escorted by a bril- 
liant array of the best horsemen of his garrison. 
Apprised of his absence, the vigilant El Zagai 
suddenly appeared before Culla with a powerful 
force, stormed the town sword in hand, fought 
the Christians from street to street, and drove 
them, with great slaughter, to the citadel. Here 
a veteran captain, by the name of Juan de Ava- 
los, a gray- headed warrior, scarred in many a 
battle, assumed the command, and made an ob- 
stinate defense. Neither the multitude of the 
enemy, nor the vehemence of their attacks, 
though led on by the terrible El Zagal himself, 
had power to shake the fortitude of this doughty 
old soldier. 

The Moors undermined the outer walls and 
one of the towers of the fortress, arid made 
their way into the exterior court The alcayde 
manned the tops of his towers, pouring down 
melted pitch, and showering darts, arrows, stones, 
and all kinds of missiles upon the assailants. 
The Moors were driven out of the court ; but, 
being reinforced with fresh troops, returned re- 
peatedly to the assault. For five days the com- 
bat was kept up : the Christians were nearly ex- 
hausted, but were sustained by the cheerings of 
their stanch old alcayde, and the fear of death 
from El Zagal should they surrender. At length 
the approach of a powerful force under Don Luis 
Puerto Carrero relieved them from this fearful 
peril. El Zagal abandoned the assault, but set 



440 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

tire to the town in his rage and disappointment, 
and retired to his stronghold of Guadix. 

The example of El Zagal roused his adherents 
to action. Two bold Moorish alcaydes, Ali Alia- 
tar and Yzan Aliatar, commanding the fortresses 
of Alhenden and Salobrena, laid waste the coun- 
try of the subjects of Boabdil, and the places 
which had recently submitted to the Christians : 
they swept off the cattle, carried off captives, and 
harassed the whole of the newly conquered fron- 
tier. 

The Moors, also, of Almeria, and Tavernas, 
and Purchena, made inroads into Murcia, and 
carried fire and sword into its most fertile re- 
gions. On the opposite frontier, also, among the 
wild valleys and rugged recesses of the Sierra 
Bermeja, or Red Mountains, many of the Moors 
who had lately submitted again flew to arms. 
The marques of Cadiz suppressed by timely 
vigilance the rebellion of the mountain town of 
Gausin, situated on a high peak, almost among 
the clouds ; but others of the Moors fortified 
themselves in rock-built towers and castles, in- 
habited solely by warriors ; whence they carried 
on a continual war of forage and depredation ; 
sweeping down into the valleys, and carrying off 
flocks and herds and all kinds of booty to these 
eagle-nests, to which it was perilous and fruitless 
to pursue them. 

The worthy father, Fray Antonio Agapida, 
closes his history of this checkered year in quite 
a different strain from those triumphant periods 
with which he is accustomed to wind up the vie- 



FLOODS AND TEMPESTS. 441 

torious campaigns of the sovereign^. " Great 
and mighty," says this venerable chronicler, 
" were the floods and tempests which prevailed 
throughout the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon 
about this time. It seemed as though the win- 
dows of heaven were again opened, and a second 
deluge overwhelming the face of nature. The 
clouds burst, as it were, in cataracts upon the 
earth ; torrents rushed down from the mountains, 
overflowing the valleys; brooks were swelled 
into raging rivers; houses were undermined; 
mills were swept away by their own streams ; 
the affrighted shepherds saw their flocks drowned 
in the midst of the pasture, and were fain to take 
refuge for their lives in towers and high places. 
The Guadalquivir for a time .became a roaring 
and tumultuous sea, inundating the immense 
plain of the Tablada, and filling the fair city of 
Seville with affright. 

u A vast black cloud moved over the land, ac- 
companied by a hurricane and a trembling of the 
earth. Houses were unroofed, the walls and 
battlements of fortresses shaken, and lofty towers 
rocked to their foundations. Ships, riding at 
anchor, were either stranded or swallowed up ; 
others, under sail, were tossed to and fro upon 
mountain waves, and cast upon the land, where 
the whirlwind rent them in pieces and scattered 
them in fragments in the air. Doleful was the 
ruin and great the terror where this baleful cloud 
passed by ; and it left a long track of desolation 
over sea and land. Some of the faint-hearted," 
ndds Antonio Agapida, " looked upon this tor- 



442 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

merit of the elements as a prodigious event, out 
of the course of nature. In the weakness of 
their fears, they connected it with those troubles 
which occurred in various places, considering it 
a portent of some great calamity, about to be 
wrought by the violence of the bloody-handed El 
Zagal and his fierce adherents. ,, 1 

1 See Cura de los Palacios, cap. 91. Palencia, D& Bella 
Granad. lib. 8. 





CHAPTER LXX. 

How King Ferdinand prepared to besiege the City of Baza, 
and how the City prepared for Defense. 

HE stormy winter had passed away, and 
the spring of 1489 was advancing ; yet 
the heavy rains had broken up the roads, 
the mountain brooks were swollen to raging tor- 
rents, and the late shallow and peaceful rivers 
were deep, turbulent, and dangerous. The Chris- 
tian troops had been summoned to assemble in 
early spring on the frontiers of Jaen, but were 
slow in arriving at the appointed place. They 
were entangled in the miry defiles of the moun- 
tains, or fretted impatiently on the banks of im- 
passable floods. It was late in the month of May, 
before they assembled in sufficient force to attempt 
the proposed invasion ; when, at length- a valiant 
army, of thirteen thousand horse and forty thou- 
sand foot, marched merrily over the border. The 
queen remained at the city of Jaen, with the 
prince-royal and the princesses her children, ac- 
companied and supported by the venerable car- 
dinal of Spain, and those reverend prelates who 
assisted in her councils throughout this holy war. 
The plan of king Ferdinand was to lay siege 
to the city of Baza, the key of the remaining pos- 
sessions of the Moor. That important fortress 



444 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

taken, Guadix and Almeria must soon follow, and 
then the power of El Zagal would be at an end. 
As the Catholic king advanced, he had first to se- 
cure various castles and strongholds in the vicinity 
of Baza, which might otherwise harass his army. 
Some of these made obstinate resistance, espe- 
cially the town of Zujar. The Christians as- 
sailed the walls with various machines, to sap 
them and batter them down. The brave alcayde, 
Hubec Abdilbar, opposed force to force and engine 
to engine. He manned his towers with his bra- 
vest warriors, who rained down an iron shower 
upon the enemy ; and he linked cauldrons together 
by strong chains, and cast fire from them, con- 
suming the wooden engines of their assailants, 
and those who managed them. 

The siege was protracted for several days : the 
bravery of the alcayde could not save his fortress 
from an overwhelming foe, but it gained him hon- 
orable terms. Ferdinand permitted the garrison 
and the inhabitants to repair with their effects to 
Baza ; and the gallant Hubec marched forth with 
the remnant of his force, and took the way to 
that devoted city. 

The delays caused to the invading army by 
these circumstances, had been diligently improved 
by El Zagal, who felt that he was now making 
his last stand for empire, and that this campaign 
would decide, whether he should continue a king, 
or sink into a vassal. He was but a few leagues 
from Baza, at the city of Guadix. This last was 
the most important point of his remaining territo- 
ries, being a kind of bulwark between them and 



BAZA MENACED. 445 

tlie hostile city of Granada, the seat of his neph- 
ew's power. Though he heard of the tide of 
war, therefore, collecting and rolling towards the 
city of Baza, he dared not go in person to its as- 
sistance. He dreaded that should he leave Gua- 
dix, Boabdil would attack him in rear while the 
Christian army was battling with him in front. 
El Zagal trusted in the great strength of Baza, 
to defy any violent assault, and profited by the 
delays of the Christian army, to supply it with 
all possible means of defense. He sent thither 
all the troops he could spare from his garrison of 
Guadix, and dispatched missives throughout his 
territories, calling upon all true Moslems to hasten 
to Baza, and make a devoted stand in defense of 
their homes, their liberties, and their religion. 
The cities of Tavernas and Purchena, and the 
surrounding heights and valleys, responded to his 
orders, and sent forth their fighting men to the 
field. The rocky fastnesses of the Alpuxarras 
resounded with the din of arms ; troops of horse 
and bodies of foot-soldiers were seen winding 
down the rugged cliffs and defiles of those mar- 
ble mountains, and hastening towards Baza. Many 
brave cavaliers of Granada also, spurning the quiet 
and security of Christian vassalage, secretly left 
the city and hastened to join their fighting country- 
men. The great dependence of El Zagal, how- 
ever, was upon the valor and loyalty of his cousin 
and brother-in-law, Cid Hiaya Alnayar, 1 who 

1 This name has generally been written Cidi Yahye. The 
Dresent mode is adopted on the authority of Alcantara in his 
history of Granada; who appears to have derived it from 



448 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

was alcayde of Almeria, — a cavalier experienced 
in warfare and redoubtable in the field. He 
wrote to him to leave Almeria, and repair with 
all speed, at the head of his troops, to Baza. Cid 
Hiaya departed immediately, with ten thousand 
of the bravest Moors in the kingdom. These 
were for the most part hardy mountaineers, tem- 
pered to sun and storm, and tried in many a 
combat. None equaled them for a sally or a 
skirmish. They were adroit in executing a thou- 
sand stratagems, ambuscadoes, and evolutions. 
Impetuous in their assaults, yet governed in their 
utmost fury by a word or sign from their com- 
mander, at the sound of a trumpet they would 
check themselves in the midst of their career, 
wheel off and disperse ; and at another sound of 
a trumpet, they would as suddenly reassemble 
and return to the attack. They were upon the 
enemy when least expected, coming like a rush- 
ing blast, spreading havoc and consternation, and 
then passing away in an instant ; so that when 
one recovered from the shock and looked around, 
behold nothing was to be seen or heard of this 
tempest of war, but a cloud of dust and the clatter 
of retreating hoofs. 1 

Arabic manuscripts, existing in the archives of the marques 
de Corvera, descendant of Cid Hiaya. The latter (Cid Hiaya) 
was son of Aben Zelim, a deceased prince of Almeria, and 
was a lineal descendant from the celebrated Aben Hud, sur- 
named the Just. The wife of Cid Hiaya was sister of the 
two Moorish generals, Abul Cacim and Reduan Vanegas, and 
like them the fruit of the union of a Christian knight, Don 
Pedro Vanegas, with Cetimerien, a Moorish princess. 
iPulgar, pt. 3, c. 106. 



THE MOORISH COMMANDERS. 447 

When Cid Hiaya led his train of ten thousand 
valiant warriors into the gates of Baza, the city 
rang with acclamations, and for a time the inhab- 
itants thought themselves secure. El Zagal, also, 
felt a glow of confidence, notwithstanding his own 
absence from the city. '■ Cid Hiaya," said he, " is 
my cousin and my brother-in-law ; related to me 
by blood and marriage, he is a second self : happy 
is that monarch who has his kindred to command 
his armies." 

With all these reinforcements, the garrison of 
Baza amounted to above twenty thousand men. 
There were at this time three principal leaders in 
the city : Mohammed Ibu Hassan, surnamed the 
Veteran, who was military governor or alcayde, 
an old Moor of great experience and discretion ; 
the second was Hamet Abu Zali, who was cap- 
tain of the troops stationed in the place ; and the 
third was Hubec Abdilbar, late alcayde of Zujar, 
who had repaired hither with the remains of his 
garrison. Over all these Cid Hiaya exercised a 
supreme command, in consequence of his being 
of the blood-royal, and in the especial confidence 
of Muley Abdallah el Zagal. He was eloquent 
and ardent in council, and fond of striking and 
splendid achievements ; but he was a little prone 
to be carried away by the excitement of the mo- 
ment, and the warmth of his imagination. The 
councils of war of these commanders, therefore, 
were more frequently controlled by the opinions 
of the old alcayde Mohammed Ibn Hassan, for 
whose shrewdness, caution, and experience, Cid 
Hiaya himself felt the greatest deference. 



448 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

The city of Baza was situated in a great val 
ley, eight leagues in length and three in breadth, 
called the Hoya, or basin of Baza. It was sur- 
rounded by a range of mountains, called the 
Sierra of Xabalcohol, the streams of which, col- 
lecting themselves into two rivers, watered and 
fertilized the country. The city was built in the 
plain ; one part of it protected by the rocky pre- 
cipices of the mountain, and by a powerful cita- 
del ; the other by massive walls, studded with 
immense towers. It had suburbs towards the 
plain, imperfectly fortified by earthen walls. In 
front of these suburbs extended a tract of orchards 
and gardens nearly a league in length, so thickly 
planted as to resemble a continued forest. Here, 
every citizen who could afford it, had his little 
plantation, and his garden of fruits and flowers 
and vegetables, watered by canals and rivulets, 
and dominated by a small tower for recreation or 
defense. This wilderness of groves and gardens, 
intersected in all parts by canals and runs of 
water, and studded by above a thousand small 
towers, formed a kind of protection to this side 
of the city, rendering all approach extremely dif- 
ficult and perplexed. 

While the Christian army had been detained 
before the frontier posts, the city of Baza had 
been a scene of hurried and unremitting prepara- 
tion. All the grain of the surrounding valley, 
though yet unripe, was hastily reaped and borne 
into the city, to prevent it from yielding suste- 
nance to the enemy. The country was drained 
of all its supplies ; flocks and herds were driven, 



SUMMONS TO SURRENDER. 449 

bleating and bellowing, into the gates ; long trains 
of beasts of burden, some laden with food, others 
with lances, darts, and arms of all kinds, kept 
pouring into the place. Already were munitions 
collected sufficient for a siege of fifteen months : 
still the eager and hasty preparation was going 
on, when the army of Ferdinand came in sight. 

On one side might be seen scattered parties of 
foot and horse spurring to the gates, and mule- 
teers hurrying forward their burdened animals, 
all anxious to get under shelter before the gath- 
ering storm ; on the other side, the cloud of war 
came sweeping down the valley, the roll of drum 
or clang of trumpet resounding occasionally from 
its deep bosom, or the bright glance of arms flash- 
ing forth, like vivid lightning, from its columns. 
King Ferdinand pitched his tents in the valley, 
beyond the green labyrinth of gardens. He sent 
his heralds to summon the city to surrender, 
promising the most favorable terms in case of im- 
mediate compliance, and avowing in the most sol- 
emn terms his resolution never to abandon the 
siege until he had possession of the place. 

Upon receiving this summons, the Moorish 
commanders held a council of war. The prince 
| Cid Hiaya, indignant at the menaces of the king, 
was for retorting by a declaration that the gar- 
rison never would surrender, but would fight 
until buried under the ruins of the walls. " Of 
what avail," said the veteran Mohammed, " is a 
declaration of the kind, which we may falsify by 

our deeds? Let us threaten what we know we 
29 



450 



CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



can perform, and let us endeavor to perform more 
than we threaten." 

In conformity to his advice, therefore, a laconic 
reply was sent to the Christian monarch, thank- 
ing him for his offer of favorable terms, but in- 
forming him that they were placed in the city to 
defend, not to surrender it. 









CHAPTER LXXI. 

The Battle of the Gardens before Baza. 

HEN the reply of the Moorish com- 
manders was brought to King Ferdi- 
nand, he prepared to press the siege 
with the utmost rigor. Finding the camp too 
far from the city, and that the intervening or- 
chards afforded shelter for the sallies of the 
Moors, he determined to advance it beyond the 
gardens, in the space between them and the sub- 
urbs, where his batteries would have full play 
upon the city walls. A detachment was sent in 
advance, to take possession of the gardens, and 
keep a check upon the suburbs, opposing any 
sally, while the encampment should be formed 
and fortified. The various commanders entered 
the orchards at different points. The young cav- 
aliers marched fearlessly forward, but the expe- 
rienced veterans foresaw infinite peril in the 
mazes of this verdant labyrinth. The master of 
St. Jago, as he led his troops into the centre of 
the gardens, exhorted them to keep by one another, 
and to press forward in defiance of all difficulty 
or danger ; assuring them that God would give 
them the victory, if they attacked hardily and 
persisted resolutely. 



452 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Scarce had they entered the verge of the or- 
chards, when a din of drums and trumpets, min- 
gled with war-cries, was heard from the suburbs, 
and a legion of Moorish warriors on foot poured 
forth. They were led on by the prince Cid Hi- 
aya. He saw the imminent danger of the city, 
should the Christians gain possession of the or- 
chards. u Soldiers," he cried, " we fight for life 
and liberty, for our families, our country, our re- 
ligion ; 1 nothing is left for us to depend upon, 
but the strength of our hands, the courage of our 
hearts, and the almighty protection of Allah." 
The Moors answered him with shouts of war, and 
rushed to the encounter. The two hosts met in 
the midst of the gardens. A chance-medley com- 
bat ensued, with lances, arquebuses, cross-bows, 
and scimetars ; the perplexed nature of the ground, 
cut up and intersected by canals and streams, the 
closeness of the trees, the multiplicity of towers 
and petty edifices, gave greater advantages to the 
Moors, who were on foot, than to the Christians, 
who were on horseback. The Moors, too, knew 
the ground, with all its alleys and passes ; and 
were thus enabled to lurk, to sally forth, attack, 
and retreat, almost without injury. 

The Christian commanders seeing this, ordered 
many of the horsemen to dismount and fight on 
foot. The battle then became fierce and deadly, 
each disregarding his own life, provided he could 
slay his enemy. It was not so much a general 
battle, as a multitude of petty actions ; for every 

1 u Illi (Mauri) pro fortunis, pro libertate. pro laribus patriie, 
pi-o vita denique certabant." — Pietro Martyr, Epist. 70. 



BATTLE OF THE GARDENS. 453 

orchard and garden had its distinct contest. No 
one could see further than the little scene of fury 
and bloodshed around him, nor know how the 
general battle fared. In vain the captains exer- 
ted their voices, in vain the trumpets brayed forth 
signals and commands — all was confounded and 
unheard, in the universal din and uproar. No 
one kept to his standard, but fought as his own 
fury or fear dictated. In some places the Chris- 
tians had the advantage, in others the Moors; 
often, a victorious party, pursuing the vanquished, 
came upon a superior and triumphant force of 
the enemy, and the fugitives turned back upon 
them in an overwhelming wave. Some broken 
remnants, in their terror and confusion, fled from 
their own countrymen and sought refuge among 
their enemies, not knowing friend from foe, in the 
obscurity of the groves. The Moors were more 
adroit in these wild skirmishings, from their flex- 
ibility, lightness, and agility, and the rapidity 
with which they would disperse, rally, and return 
again to the charge. 1 

The hardest fighting was about the small gar- 
den towers and pavilions, which served as so 
many petty fortresses. Each party by turns 
gained them, defended them fiercely, and were 
driven out ; many of the towers were set on fire, 
and increased the horrors of the fight by the 
wreaths of smoke and flame in which they 
wrapped the groves, and by the shrieks of those 
who were burning. 

Several of the Christian cavaliers, bewildered 

1 Mariana, lib. 25, cap. 13. 



454 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

by the uproar and confusion, and shocked at the 
carnage which prevailed, would have led their 
men out of the action ; but they were entangled 
in a labyrinth, and knew not which way to re- 
treat. While in this perplexity, Juan Perea, the 
standard-bearer of one of the squadrons of the 
grand cardinal, had his arm carried off by a can- 
non-ball ; the standard was well nigh falling into 
the hands of the enemy, when Rodrigo de Men- 
doza, an intrepid youth, natural son of the grand 
cardinal, rushed to its rescue, through a shower 
of balls, lances, and arrows, and, bearing it aloft, 
dashed forward with it into the hottest of the 
combat, followed by his shouting soldiery. 

King Ferdinand, who remained in the skirts 
of the orchard, was in extreme anxiety. It was 
impossible to see much of the action, for the mul- 
tiplicity of trees and towers, and the wreaths of 
smoke ; and those who were driven out defeated, 
or came out wounded and exhausted, gave differ- 
ent accounts, according to the fate of the partial 
conflicts in which they had been engaged. Fer- 
dinand exerted himself to the utmost to animate 
and encourage his troops to this blind encounter, 
sending reinforcements of horse and foot to those 
points where the battle was most sanguinary and 
doubtful. 

Among those who were brought forth mortally 
wounded was Don Juan de Luna, a youth of un- 
common merit, greatly prized by the king, be- 
loved by the army, and married to Dona Cata- 
lina de Urrea, a young lady of distinguished 
beauty. 1 They laid him at the foot of a tree, 
1 Mariana. P. Martyr. Zurita. 



DESPERATE STRUGGLE. 455 

And endeavored to stanch and bind up his wounds 
with a scarf which his bride had wrought for 
him ; but his life-blood flowed too profusely ; and 
while a holy friar was yet administering to him 
the last sacred offices of the church, he expired, 
almost at the feet of his sovereign. 

On the other hand, the veteran alcayde, Mo- 
hammed Ibn Hassan, surrounded by a little band 
of chieftains, kept an anxious eye upon the scene 
of combat, from the walls of the city. For 
nearly twelve hours the battle raged without in 
termission. The thickness of the foliage hid all the 
particulars from their sight ; but they could see the 
flash of swords and glance of helmets among the 
trees. Columns of smoke rose in every direction, 
while the clash of arms, the thundering of ribad- 
oquines and arquebuses, the shouts and cries of 
the combatants, and the groans and supplications 
of the wounded, bespoke the deadly conflict 
waging in the bosom of the groves. They were 
harassed, too, by the shrieks and lamentations of 
the Moorish women and children, as their wounded 
relatives were brought bleeding from the scens 
of action ; and were stunned by a general outcry 
of woe on the part of the inhabitants, as the body 
of Reduan Zafargal, a renegado Christian, and 
one of the bravest of their generals, was borne 
breathless into the city. 

At length the din of battle approa hed nearer 
to the skirts of the orchard. They beheld their 
warriors driven out from among the groves by 
fresh squadrons of the enemy, and, after disputing 
the ground inch by inch, obliged to retire to a 



456 CONQUEST Of GRANADA. 

place between the orchards and the suburbs, 
which was fortified with palisadoes. 

The Christians immediately planted opposing 
palisadoes, and established strong outposts near 
to this retreat of the Moors, while, at the same 
time, King Ferdinand ordered that his encamp- 
ment should be pitched within the hard-won 
orchards. 

Mohammed Ibn Hassan sallied forth to the 
aid of the prince Cid Hiaya, and made a desper- 
ate attempt to dislodge the enemy from this for- 
midable position ; but the night had closed, and 
the darkness rendered it impossible to make any 
impression. The Moors, however, kept up con- 
stant assaults and alarms throughout the night ; 
and the weary Christians, exhausted by the toils 
and sufferings of the day, were not allowed a 
moment of repose. 1 

1 Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 106, 107. Cura de hs Palacios, cap. 
92. Zurita, lib. 20, cap. 81. 





CHAPTER LXXIL 

Siege of Baza. — Embarrassments of the Army. 

HE morning sun rose upon a piteous 
scene before the walls of Baza. The 
Christian outposts, harassed throughout 
the night, were pale and haggard ; while the mul- 
titudes of slain which lay before their palisadoes, 
showed the fierce attacks they had sustained, and 
the bravery of their defense. 

Beyond them lay the groves and gardens of 
Baza ; once favorite resorts for recreation and 
delight — now, a scene of horror and desolation. 
The towers and pavilions were smoking ruins ; 
the canals and water-courses were discolored with 
blood, and choked with the bodies of the slain. 
Here and there the ground, deep dinted with the 
tramp of man and steed, and plashed and slippery 
with gore, showed where had been some fierce 
and mortal conflict ; while the bodies of Moors 
and Christians, ghastly in death, lay half-con- 
cealed among the matted and trampled shrubs, 
and flowers, and herbage. 

Amidst these sanguinary scenes rose the Chris- 
tian tents, hastily pitched among the gardens in 
the preceding evening. The experience of the 
night, however, and the forlorn aspect of every- 



458 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

thing in the morning, convinced king Ferdinand 
of the perils and hardships to which his camp 
must be exposed, in its present situation ; and, 
after a consultation with his principal cavaliers, 
he resolved to abandon the orchards. 

It was a dangerous movement, to extricate his 
army from so entangled a situation, in the face of 
so alert and daring an enemy. A bold front was 
therefore kept up towards the city ; additional 
troops were ordered to the advanced posts, and 
works begun as if for a settled encampment. 
Not a tent was struck in the gardens ; but in the 
mean time, the most active and unremitting exer- 
tions were made to remove all the baggage and 
furniture of the camp back to the original station. 

All day, the Moors beheld a formidable show 
of war maintained in front of the gardens ; while 
in the rear, the tops of the Christian tents, and 
the pennons of the different commanders, were 
seen rising above the groves. Suddenly, towards 
evening, the tents sank and disappeared ; the 
outposts broke up their stations and withdrew, 
and the whole shadow of an encampment was 
fast vanishing from their eyes. 

The Moors saw too late the subtle maneuver 
of king Ferdinand. Cid Hiaya again sallied forth 
with a large force of horse and foot, and pressed 
furiously upon the Christians. The latter, how- 
ever, experienced in Moorish attack, retired in 
close order, sometimes turning upon the enemy 
and driving them to their barricadoes, and then 
pursuing their retreat. In this way the army 
was extricated, without much further loss, from 
the perilous labyrinths of the gardens. 



CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF WAR, 459 

The camp was now out of danger ; but it was 
also too distant from the city to do mischief, while 
the Moors could sally forth and return without 
hindrance. The king called a council of war, to 
consider in what manner to proceed. The mar- 
ques of Cadiz was for abandoning the siege for 
the present, the place being too strong, too well 
garrisoned and provided, and too extensive, for 
their limited forces either to carry it by assault, 
or invest and reduce it by famine ; while, in lin- 
gering before it, the army would be exposed to 
the usual maladies and sufferings of besieging 
armies, and, when the rainy season came on, would 
be shut up by the swelling of the rivers. He 
recommended, instead, that the king should throw 
garrisons of horse and foot into all the towns 
captured in the neighborhood, and leave them to 
keep up a predatory war upon Baza, while he 
should overrun and ravage all the country ; so 
that, in the following year, Almeria and Guadix, 
having all their subject towns and territories 
taken from them, might be starved into submis- 
sion. 

Don Gutierre de Cardenas, senior commander 
of Leon, on the other hand, maintained that to 
abandon the siege would be construed by the en- 
emy into a sign of weakness and irresolution. It 
would give new spirits to the partisans of Ei 
Zagal, and would gain to his standard many of the 
wavering subjects of Boabdil, if it did not en- 
courage the fickle populace of Granada to open 
rebellion. He advised, therefore, that the siege 
should be prosecuted with vigor. 



460 CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 

The pride of Ferdinand pleaded in favor of the 
last opinion ; for it would be doubly humiliating, 
again to return from a campaign in this part of 
the Moorish kingdom, without effecting a blow. 
But when he reflected on all that his army had 
suffered, and on all that they must suffer should 
the siege continue, — - especially from the difficulty 
of obtaining a regular supply of provisions for so 
numerous a host, across a great extent of rugged 
and mountainous country, — he determined to 
consult the safety of his people, and to adopt the 
advice of the marques of Cadiz. 

When the soldiery heard that the king was 
about to raise the siege in mere consideration of 
their sufferings, they were filled with generous 
enthusiasm, and entreated, as with one voice, that 
the siege might never be abandoned until the city 
surrendered. 

Perplexed by conflicting counsels, the king 
dispatched messengers to the queen at Jaen, re- 
questing her advice. Posts had been stationed 
between them, in such manner that missives from 
the camp could reach the queen within ten hours. 
Isabella sent instantly her reply. She left the 
policy of raising or continuing the siege to the 
decision of the king and his captains ; but should 
they determine to persevere, she pledged herself, 
with the aid of God, to forward them men, money, 
provisions, and all other supplies, until the city 
should be taken. 

The reply of the queen determined Ferdinand 
to persevere ; and when his determination was 
made known to the army, it was hailed with as 
much joy as if it had been tidings of a victory. 



CHAPTER LXXIIL 

Siege of Baza continued. — How King Ferdinand completely 
invested the City. 




HE Moorish prince Cid Hiaya had re- 
ceived tidings of the doubts and discus- 
i sions in the Christian camp, and flattered 
himself with hopes that the besieging army would 
soon retire in despair, though the veteran Moham- 
med shook his head with incredulity. A sudden 
movement one morning in the Christian camp, 
seemed to confirm the sanguine hopes of the prince. 
The tents were struck, the artillery and baggage 
were conveyed away, and bodies of soldiers began 
to march along the valley. The momentary gleam 
of triumph was soon dispelled. The Catholic 
king had merely divided his host into two camps, 
the more effectually to distress the city. One, 
consisting of four thousand horse and eight thou- 
sand foot, with all the artillery and battering 
engines, took post on the side of the city towards 
the mountain. This was commanded by the 
marques of Cadiz, with whom were Don Alonzo 
de Aguilar, Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero, and 
many other distinguished cavaliers. 

The other camp was commanded by the king, 



& 



having six thousand horse and a great host of 



462 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

foot-soldiers, the hardy mountaineers of Biscay, 
Guipuscoa, Galicia, and the Asturias. Among 
the cavaliers who were with the king were the 
brave count de Tendilla, Don Rodrigo de Mendoza, 
and Don Alonzo de Cardenas, master of Santiago. 
The two camps were wide asunder, on opposite 
sides of the city, and between them lay the thick 
wilderness of orchards. Both camps were there- 
fore fortified by great trenches, breastworks, and 
palisadoes. The veteran Mohammed, as he saw 
these two formidable camps glittering on each side 
of the city, and noted the well-known pennons of 
renowned commanders fluttering above them, still 
comforted his companions : " These camps," said 
he, " are too far removed from each other, for mu- 
tual succor and cooperation ; and the forest of or- 
chards is as a gulf between them." This con- 
solation was but of short continuance, Scarcely 
were the Christian camps fortified, when the ears 
of the Moorish garrison were startled by the sound 
of innumerable axes, and the crash of falling trees. 
They looked with anxiety from their highest 
towers, and beheld their favorite groves sinking 
beneath the blows of the Christian pioneers. The 
Moors sallied forth with fiery zeal to protect their 
beloved gardens, and the orchards in which they 
so much delighted. The Christians, however, 
were too well supported to be driven from their 
work. Day after day, the gardens became the 
scene of incessant and bloody skirmishings ; yet 
still the devastation of the groves went on, for 
king Ferdinand was too well aware of the neces- 
sity of clearing away this screen of woods, not to 



NEW INVESTMENT OF BAZA. 463 

bend all his forces to the undertaking. It was a 
work, however, of gigantic toil and patience. 
The trees were of such magnitude, and so closely 
set together, and spread over so wide an extent, 
that notwithstanding four thousand men were em- 
ployed, they could scarcely clear a strip of land 
ten paces broad within a day ; and such were the 
interruptions from the incessant assaults of the 
Moors, that it was full forty days before the or- 
chards were completely leveled. 

The devoted city of Baza now lay stripped of 
its beautiful covering of groves and gardens, at 
once its ornament, its delight, and its protection. 
The besiegers went on slowly and surely, with 
almost incredible labors, to invest and isolate the 
city. They connected their camps by a deep 
trench across the plain, a league in length, into 
which they diverted the waters of the mountain 
streams. They protected this trench by palisadoes, 
fortified by fifteen castles, at regular distances. 
They dug a deep trench, also, two leagues in 
length, across the mountain in the rear of the 
city, reaching from camp to camp, and fortified it 
on each side with walls of earth, and stone, and 
wood. Thus the Moors were inclosed on all sides 
by trenches, palisadoes, walls, and castles ; so that 
it was impossible for them to sally beyond this 
great line of circumvallation — nor could any 
force enter to their succor. Ferdinand made an 
attempt likewise, to cut off the supply of water 
from the city; "for water," observes the worthy 
Agapida, " is more necessary to these infidels than 
bread, making use of it in repeated daily ablutions 



464 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

enjoined by their damnable religion, and employ- 
ing it in baths and in a thousand other idle and 
extravagant modes, of which we Spaniards and 
Christians make but little account." 

There was a noble fountain of pure water, 
which gushed out at the foot of the hill Albohacen, 
just behind the city. The Moors had almost a 
superstitious fondness for this fountain, and chiefly 
depended upon it for their supplies. Receiving 
intimation from some deserters, of the plan of 
king Ferdinand to get possession of this precious 
fountain, they sallied forth at night, and threw up 
such powerful works upon the impending hill, as 
to set all attempts of the Christian assailants at 
defiance. 





CHAPTER LXXIV. 

Exploit of Hernando Perez del Pulsar and other Cavaliers. 

HE siege of Baza, while it displayed 
the skill and science of the Christian 
BJJilll commanders, gave but little scope for the 
adventurous spirit and fiery valor of the young 
Spanish cavaliers. They repined at the tedious 
monotony and dull security of their fortified camp, 
and longed for some soul-stirring exploit of dif- 
ficulty and danger. Two of the most spirited of 
these youthful cavaliers were Francisco de Bazan 
and Antonio de Cueva, the latter of whom was 
son to the duke of Albuquerque As they were 
one day seated on the ramparts of the camp, and 
venting their impatience at this life of inaction, 
they were overheard by a veteran adalid, one of 
those scouts or guides who are acquainted with 
all parts of the country. " Seniors/' said he, "if 
you wish for a service of peril and profit, if you 
are willing to pluck the fiery old Moor by the 
beard, I can lead you to where you may put your 
mettle to the proof. Hard by the city of Guadix, 
are certain hamlets rich in booty. I can conduct 
you by a way in which you may come upon 
them by surprise ; and if you are as cool in the 
head, as you are hot in the spur, you may bear 
30 



466 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

off your spoils from under the very eyes of old 
El Zagal." 

The idea of thus making booty at the very 
gates of Guadix, pleased the hot-spirited youths. 
These predatory excursions were frequent about 
this time ; and the Moors of Padul, Alhenden, 
and other towns of the Alpuxarras, had recently 
harassed the Christian territories by expeditions 
of the kind. Francisco de Bazan and Antonio 
de Cueva soon found other young cavaliers of 
their age, eager to join in the adventure ; and in 
a little while, they had nearly three hundred 
horse and two hundred foot, ready equipped and 
eager for the foray. 

Keeping their destination secret, they sallied 
out of the camp on the edge of an evening, and, 
guided by the adalid, made their way by starlight 
through the most secret roads of the mountains. 
In this way they pressed on rapidly day and 
night, until early one morning, before cock-crow- 
ing they fell suddenly upon the hamlets, made 
prisoners of the inhabitants, sacked the houses, 
ravaged the fields, and sweeping through the 
meadows, gathered together all the flocks and 
herds. Without giving themselves time to rest, 
they set out upon their return, making with all 
speed for the mountains, before the alarm should 
be given and the country roused. 

Several of the herdsmen, however, had fled to 
Guadix, and carried tidings of the ravage to El 
Zagal. The beard of old Muley trembled with 
rage ; he immediately sent out six hundred of his 
choicest horse and foot, with orders to recover the 






ADVENTURE OF THE CAVALIERS. 467 

booty and to bring those insolent marauders cap- 
tive to Guadix. 

The Christian cavaliers were urging their 
cavalgada of cattle and sheep up a mountain, as 
fast as their own weariness would permit, when, 
looking back, they beheld a great cloud of dust, 
and presently descried the turbaned host hot 
upon their traces. 

They saw that the Moors were superior in 
number ; they were fresh also, both man and 
steed, whereas both they and their horses were 
fatigued by two days and two nights of hard 
marching. Several of the horsemen therefore 
gathered round the commanders, and proposed 
that they should relinquish their spoil, and save 
themselves by flight. The captains, Francisco 
de Bazan and Antonio de Cueva, spurned at 
such craven counsel. " What ! " cried they, 
" abandon our prey without striking a blow ? 
Leave our foot-soldiers too in the lurch, to be 
overwhelmed by the enemy ? If any one gives 
such counsel through fear, he mistakes the course 
of safety ; for there is less danger in presenting 
a bold front to the foe, than in turning a dastard 
back ; and fewer men are killed in a brave ad- 
vance, than in a cowardly retreat. 

Some of the cavaliers were touched by these 
words, and declared that they would stand by the 
foot-soldiers like true companions in arms ; the 
great mass of the party, however, were volun- 
teers, brought together by chance, who received 
no pay, nor had any common tie to keep them to- 
gether in time of danger. The pleasure of the 



468 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

expedition being over, each thought but of his 
own safety, regardless of his companions. As the 
enemy approached, the tumult of opinions in- 
creased, and everything was in confusion. The 
captains, to put an end to the dispute, ordered the 
standard-bearer to advance against the Moors, 
well knowing that no true cavalier would hesitate 
to follow and defend his banner. The standard- 
bearer hesitated — the troops were on the point 
of taking to flight. 

Upon this a cavalier of the royal guards rode 
to the front. It was Hernan Perez del Pulgar, 
alcayde of the fortress of Salar : the same daunt- 
less ambassador who once bore to the turbulent 
people of Malaga the king's summons to surren- 
der. Taking off a handkerchief which he wore 
round his head, after the Andalusian fashion, he 
tied it to the end of a lance and elevated it in the 
air. " Cavaliers," cried he, " why do ye take 
weapons in your hands, if you depend upon your 
feet for safety ? This day will determine who is 
the brave man, and who the coward. He who is 
disposed to fight, shall not want a standard : let 
him follow this handkerchief." So saying, he 
waved his banner, and spurred bravely against 
the Moors. His example shamed some, and 
filled others with generous emulation : all turned 
with one accord, and following Pulgar, rushed 
with shouts upon the enemy. The Moors scarcely 
waited to receive the shock of their encounter. 
Seized with a panic, they took to flight and 
were pursued for a considerable distance, with 
great slaughter. Three hundred of their dead 



PEREZ DE PULGAR. 469 

strewed the road, and were stripped and despoiled 
by the conquerors ; many were taken prisoners, 
and the Christian cavaliers returned in triumph 
to the camp, with a long cavalgada of sheep and 
cattle, and mules laden with booty, and bearing 
before them the singular standard which had con- 
ducted them to victory. 

King Ferdinand was so pleased with the gal- 
lant action of Hernan Perez del Pulgar that he 
immediately conferred on him the honor of knight- 
hood ; using in the ceremony the sword of Diego 
de Aguero, the captain of the royal guards; the 
duke of Esculona girded one of his own gilt 
spurs upon his heel, and the grand master of 
Santiago, the count de Cabra, and Gonsalvo of 
Cordova officiated as witnesses. Furthermore, 
to perpetuate in his family the memory of his 
achievement, the sovereigns authorized him to 
emblazon on his escutcheon a golden lion in an 
azure field, bearing a lance with a handkerchief 
at the end of it. Round the border of the 
escutcheon were depicted the eleven alcaydes 
vanquished in the battle. 1 The foregoing is but 
one of many hardy and heroic deeds done by 
this brave cavalier, in the wars against the 
Moors ; by which he gained great renown, and 
the distinguished appellation of " El de las 
hazanas," or " He of the exploits." 2 

1 Alcantara, Hist, de Granada, torn, iv., cap. 18. Pulgar, 
Cron. pt. iii. 

2 Hernan or Hernando del Pulgar, the historian, secretary 
to Queen Isabella, is confounded with this cavalier, by some 
writers. He was also present at the siege of Baza, and has 
recounted this transaction in his chronicle of the Catholic sov- 
ereigns, Ferdinand and lobelia. 




CHAPTER LXXV. 

Continuation of the Siege of Baza. 

HE Moorish king El Zagal mounted a 
tower, and looked out eagerly to enjoy 
the sight of the Christian marauders 
brought captive into the gates of Guadix ; but 
his spirits fell when he beheld his own troops 
stealing back in the dusk of the evening, in 
broken and dejected parties. 

The fortune of war bore hard against the old 
monarch; his mind was harassed by disastrous 
tidings brought each day from Baza, of the suf- 
ferings of the inhabitants, and the numbers of 
the garrison slain in the frequent skirmishes, He 
dared not go in person to the relief of the place, 
for his presence was necessary in Guadix, to 
keep a check upon his nephew in Granada. He 
sent reinforcements and supplies ; but they were 
intercepted, and either captured or driven back. 
Still his situation was in some respects preferable 
to that of his nephew Boabdil. He was battling 
like a warrior, on the last step of his throne ; El 
Chico remained a kind of pensioned vassal, in 
the luxurious abode of the Alhambra. The 
chivalrous part of the inhabitants of Granada 
could not but compare the generous stand made 
by the warriors of Baza for their country and 



SIEGE OF BAZA CONTINUED. All 

their faith, with their own time-serving submis- 
sion to the yoke of an unbeliever. Every ac- 
count they received of the woes of Baza wrung 
their hearts with agony ; every account of the 
exploits of its devoted defenders brought blushes 
to their cheeks. Many stole forth secretly with 
their weapons, and hastened to join the besieged ; 
and the partisans of El Zagal wrought upon the 
patriotism and passions of the remainder, until 
another of those conspiracies was formed, that 
were continually menacing the unsteady throne 
of Granada. It was concerted by the conspira- 
tors to assail the Alhambra on a sudden, slay Bo- 
abdil, assemble the troops, and march to Guadix ; 
where, being reinforced by the garrison of that 
place, and led on by the old warrior monarch, 
they might fall with overwhelming power upon 
the Christian army before Baza. 

Fortunately for Boabdil, he discovered the 
conspiracy in time, and the heads of the leaders 
were struck off, and placed upon the walls of the 
Alhambra — an act of severity unusual with this 
mild and wavering monarch, which struck terror 
into the disaffected, and produced a kind of mute 
tranquillity throughout the city. 

Ferdinand had full information of all the move- 
ments and measures for the relief of Baza, and 
took precautions to prevent them. Bodies of 
horsemen held watch in the mountain passes, to 
prevent supplies, and intercept any generous vol- 
unteers from Granada ; and watch-towers were 
erected, or scouts placed on every commanding 



472 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

height, to give the alarm at the least sign of a 
hostile turban. 

The prince Cid Hiaya and his brave compan- 
ions in arms were thus gradually walled up, as it 
were, from the rest of the world. A line of 
towers, the battlements of which bristled with 
troops, girded their city ; and behind the inter- 
vening bulwarks and palisadoes passed and re- 
passed continual squadrons of troops. Week 
after week and month after month passed away, 
but Ferdinand waited in vain for the garrison to 
be either terrified or starved into surrender. 
• Every day they sallied forth with the spirit and 
alacrity of troops high fed, and flushed with con- 
fidence. " The Christian monarch," says the vet- 
eran Mohammed Ibn Hassan, " builds his hopes 
upon our growing faint and desponding — we 
must manifest unusual cheerfulness and vigor. 
What would be rashness in other service becomes 
prudence with us." The prince Cid Hiaya agreed 
with him in opinion, and sallied forth with his 
troops upon all kinds of hare-brained exploits. 
They laid ambushes, concerted surprises, and 
made the most desperate assaults. The great 
extent of the Christian works rendered them 
weak in many parts : against these the Moors 
directed their attacks, suddenly breaking into 
them, making a hasty ravage, and bearing off 
their booty in triumph to the city. Sometimes 
they would sally forth by passes and clefts of the 
mountain in the rear of the city, which it was 
difficult to guard, and, hurrying down into the 



PARTISAN SALLIES. 473 

plain, sweep off all cattle and sheep that were 
grazing near the suburbs, and all stragglers from 
the camp. 

These partisan sallies brought on many sharp 
and bloody encounters, in some of which Don 
Alonzo de Aguilar and the alcayde de los Don- 
celes distinguished themselves greatly. During 
one of these hot skirmishes, which happened on 
the skirts of the mountain, about twilight, a cav- 
alier, named Martin Galindo, beheld a powerful 
Moor dealing deadly blows about him, and mak- 
ing great havoc among the Christians. Galindo 
pressed forward and challenged him to single 
combat. The Moor was not slow in answering 
the call. Couching their lances, they rushed fu- 
riously upon each other. At the first shock the 
Moor was wounded in the face, and borne out of 
his saddle. Before Galindo could check his 
steed, and turn from his career, the Moor sprang 
upon his feet, recovered his lance, and. rushing 
upon him, wounded him in the head and the arm. 
Though Galindo was on horseback and the Moor 
on foot, yet such was the prowess and address of 
the latter, that the Christian knight, being dis- 
abled in the arm, was in the utmost peril, when 
his comrades hastened to his assistance. At 
their approach, the valiant pagan retreated slowly 
up the rocks, keeping them at bay, until he found 
himself among his companions. 

Several of the young Spanish cavaliers, stung 
by the triumph of this Moslem knight, would 
have challenged others of the Moors to single 
combat ; but King Ferdinand prohibited all vaunt- 



474 



CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



ing encounters of the kind. He forbade his 
troops, also, to provoke skirmishes, well knowing 
that the Moors were more dexterous than most 
people in this irregular mode of fighting, and 
were better acquainted with the ground. 




4* 




CHAPTER LXXVI. 

How two Friars from the Holy Land arrived at the Camp. 

HILE the holy Christian army (says 
Fray Antonio Agapida) was thus be- 
leaguering this infidel city of Baza, 
there rode into the camp one day two reverend 
friars of the order of St. Francis. One was of 
portly person and authoritative air : he bestrode 
a goodly steed, well conditioned and well capar- 
isoned ; while his companion rode beside him, 
upon a humble hack, poorly accoutered ; and, as 
he rode, he scarcely raised his eyes from the 
ground, but maintained a meek and lowly air. 

The arrival of two friisws in the camp was not 
a matter of much note, for in these holy wars 
the church militant continually mingled in the 
affray, and helmet and cowl were always seen 
together; but it was soon discovered that these 
worthy saints-errant were from a far country and 
on a mission of great import. 

They were, in truth, just arrived from the 
Holy Land, being two of the saintly men who 
kept vigil over the sepulchre of our blessed Lord 
at Jerusalem. He of the tall and portly form 
and commanding presence was Fray Antonio 
Millan, prior of the Franciscan convent in the 



476 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Holy City. He had a full and florid countenance, 
a sonorous voice, and was round, and swelling, 
and copious in his periods, like one accustomed 
to harangue, and to be listened to with deference. 
His companion was small and spare in form, pale 
of visage, and soft and silken, and almost whis- 
pering in speech. " He had a humble and lowly 
way," says Agapida, " evermore bowing the head, 
as became one of his calling." Yet he was one 
of the most active, zealous, and effective brothers 
of the convent ; and, when he raised his small 
black eye from the earth, there was a keen glance 
out of the corner which showed that, though 
harmless as a dove, he was nevertheless as wise 
as a serpent. 

Those holy men had come on a momentous 
embassy from the grand soldan of Egypt ; or, as 
Agapida terms him in the language of the day, 
the soldan of Babylon. The league which had 
been made between that potentate and his arch 
foe, the Grand Turk Bajazet II., to unite in arms 
for the salvation of Granada, as has been men- 
tioned in a previous chapter of this chronicle, had 
come to nought. The infidel princes had again 
taken up arms against each other, and had re- 
lapsed into their ancient hostility. Still the grand 
soldan, as head of the whole Moslem religion, 
considered himself bound to preserve the kingdom 
of Granada from the grasp of unbelievers. He 
dispatched, therefore, these two holy friars with let- 
ters to the Castilian sovereigns, as well as to the 
pope and to the king of Naples, remonstrating 
against the evil done to the Moors of the king- 



FRIARS FROM THE HOLY LAND. 477 

dom of Granada, who were of his faith and kin- 
dred ; whereas it was well known that great 
numbers of Christians were indulged and pro- 
tected in the full enjoyment of their property, 
their liberty, and their faith in his dominions. 
He insisted, therefore, that this war should cease ; 
that the Moors of Granada should be reinstated 
in the territory of which they had been dispos- 
sessed ; otherwise he threatened to put to death 
all the Christians beneath his sway, to demolish 
their convents and temples, and to destroy the 
Holy Sepulchre. 

This fearful menace had spread consternation 
among the Christians of Palestine ; and when the 
intrepid Fray Antonio Millan and his lowly com- 
panion departed on their mission, they were ac- 
companied far from the gates of Jerusalem by an 
anxious throng of brethren and disciples, who re- 
mained watching them with tearful eyes as long 
as they were in sight. 

These holy ambassadors were received with 
great distinction by King Ferdinand ; for men of 
their cloth had ever high honor and consideration 
in his court. He had long and frequent conver- 
sations with them about the Holy Land ; the 
state of the Christian church in the dominions of 
the grand soldan, and of the policy and conduct 
of that arch infidel towards it. The portly prior 
of the Franciscan convent was full, and round, 
and oratorical in his replies ; and the king ex- 
pressed himself much pleased with the eloquence 
of his periods ; but the politic monarch was ob- 
served to lend a close and attentive ear to the 



478 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

whispering voice of the lowly companion, " whose 
discourse," adds Agapida, " though modest and 
low, was clear and fluent, and full of subtle wis- 
dom." These holy friars had visited Rome in 
their journeying, where they had delivered the 
letter of the soldan to the sovereign pontiff. His 
holiness had written by them to the Castilian 
sovereigns, requesting to know what reply they 
had to offer to this demand of the oriental poten- 
tate. 

The king of Naples also wrote to them, on the 
subject, but in wary terms. He inquired into the 
cause of this war with the Moors of Granada, 
and expressed great marvel at its events, as if 
(says Agapida) both were not notorious through- 
out all the Christian world. " Nay," adds the 
worthy friar, with becoming indignation, " he ut- 
tered opinions savoring of little better than dam- 
nable heresy ; for he observed that, although the 
Moors were of a different sect, they ought not to 
be maltreated without just cause ; and hinted 
that if the Castilian sovereigns did not suffer any 
crying injury from the Moors, it would be im- 
proper to do anything which might draw great 
damage upon the Christians ; as if, when once 
the sword of the faith was drawn, it ought ever 
to be sheathed until this scum of heathendom 
were utterly destroyed or driven from the land. 
But this monarch," he continues, " was more 
kindly disposed towards the infidels than was 
honest and lawful in a Christian prince, and was 
at that very time in league with the soldan against 
their common enemy the Grand Turk." 



SENTIMENT OF THE KING OF NAPLES. 479 

These pious sentiments of the truly Catholic 
Agapida are echoed by Padre Mariana, in his 
history ; 1 but the worthy chronicler, Pedro 
Abarca, attributes the interference of the king 
of Naples, not to lack of orthodoxy in religion, 
but to an excess of worldly policy ; he being ap- 
prehensive that, should Ferdinand conquer the 
Moors of Granada, he might have time and 
means to assert a claim of the house of Aragon 
to the crown of Naples." 

" King Ferdinand," continues the worthy father 
Pedro Abarca, u was no less master of dissimula- 
tion than his cousin of Naples ; so he replied to 
him with the utmost suavity of manner, going 
into a minute and patient vindication of the war, 
and taking great apparent pains to inform him 
of those things which all the world knew, but of 
which the other pretended to be ignorant." 2 At 
the same time he soothed his solicitude about the 
fate of the Christians in the empire of the grand 
soldan, assuring him that the great revenue ex- 
torted from them in rents and tributes would be 
a certain protection against the threatened vio- 
lence. 

To the pope he made the usual vindication of 
the war ; that it was for the recovery of ancient 
territory, usurped by the Moors ; for the punish- 
ment of wars and violences inflicted upon the 
Christians ; and finally, that it was a holy cru- 
sade for the glory and advancement of the church. 

u It was a truly edifying sight," says Agapida, 

1 Mariana, lib. 25, cap. 15. 

* Abarca, Anales de Aragon, Rev xxx., cap. 3. 



480 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

" to behold these friars, after they had had their 
audience of the king, moving about the camp 
always surrounded by nobles and cavaliers of 
high and martial renown. These were insatiable 
in their questions about the Holy Land, and the 
state of the sepulchre of our Lord, and the suf- 
ferings of the devoted brethren who guarded it, 
and the pious pilgrims who resorted there to pay 
their vows. The portly prior of the convent 
would stand with lofty and shining countenance 
in the midst of these iron warriors, and declaim 
with resounding eloquence on the history of the 
sepulchre ; but the humbler brother would ever 
and anon sigh deeply, and in low tones utter some 
tale of suffering and outrage, at which his steel- 
clad hearers would grasp the hilts of their swords 
and mutter between their clenched teeth prayers 
for another crusade." 

The pious friars having finished their mission 
to the king, and been treated with all due distinc- 
tion, took their leave, and wended their way to 
Jaen, to visit the most Catholic of queens. Tsa- 
bella, whose heart was the seat of piety, received 
them as sacred men, invested with more than hu- 
man dignity. During their residence at Jaen, 
they were continually in the royal presence ; the 
respectable prior of the convent moved and melted 
the ladies of the court by his florid rhetoric, but 
his lowly companion was observed to have con- 
tinual access to the royal ear. That saintly and 
soft-spoken messenger (says Agapida) received 
the reward of his humility ; for the queen, moved 
by his frequent representations, made in all mod 




DEPARTURE OF THE FRTARS. 481 



esty and lowliness of spirit, granted a yearly 
sum in perpetuity, of one thousand ducats in gold, 
for the support of the monks of the convent of 
the Holy Sepulchre. 1 

Moreover, on the departure of these holy am- 
bassadors, the excellent and most Catholic queen 
delivered to them a veil de voutly embroidered 
with her own royal hands, to be placed over the 
Holy Sepulchre ; — a precious and inestimable 
present, which called forth a most eloquent tribute 
of thanks from the portly prior, but which brought 
tears into the eyes of his lowly companion. 2 

1 ; ' La Reyna dio a los Frayles mil ducados de renta cado 
ano para el sustento de los religiosos del santo sepulcro, que es 
la mejor limosna y sustento que hasta nuestros dias ha quedado 
a estos religiosos de Gerusalem : para donde les dio la Reyna 
un velo labrado por sus raanos, para poner encima de la santa 
sepultura del Seilor." — Garibay, Compend. Hist lib. 18, cap. 36. 

2 It is proper to mention the result of this mission of the two 
friars, and which the worthy Agapida has neglected to record. 
At a subsequent period, the Catholic sovereigns sent the dis- 
tinguished historian, Pietro Martyr, of Angleria, as ambassa- 
dor to the grand soldan. That able man made such represen- 
tations as were perfectly satisfactory to the oriental potentate. 
He also obtained from him the remission of many exactions 
and extortions heretofore practiced upon Christian pilgrims 
visiting the Holy Sepulchre; which, it is presumed, had been 
gently but cogently detailed to the monarch by the lowly 
friar. Pietro Martyr wrote an account of his embassy to the 
grand soldan — a work greatly esteemed by the learned, and 
containing much curious information. It is entitled, De Le- 
gaiione Babylonica. 



31 



CHAPTER LXXVII. 

How Queen Isabella devised Means to supply the Army with 
Provisions. 




T has been the custom to laud the con- 
duct and address of King Ferdinand, 
in this most arduous and protracted war ; 
but the sage Agapida is more disposed to give 
credit to the counsels and measures of the queen, 
who, he observes, though less ostensible in action, 
was in truth the very soul, the vital principle of 
this great enterprise. While King Ferdinand 
was bustling in his camp and making a glittering 
display with his gallant chivalry, she, surrounded 
by her saintly counselors, in the episcopal palace 
of Jaen, was devising ways and means to keep 
the king and his army in existence. She had 
pledged herself to keep up a supply of men, and 
money, and provisions, until the city should be 
taken. The hardships of the siege caused a fear- 
ful waste of life, but the supply of men was the 
least difficult part of her undertaking. So beloved 
was the queen by the chivalry of Spain, that on 
her calling on them for assistance, not a grandee 
or cavalier that yet lingered at home, but either 
repaired in person or sent forces to the camp ; 
the ancient and warlike families vied with each 



ISABELLA DEVISES WAYS AND MEANS. 485 

other in marshaling forth their vassals ; and thus 
the besieged Moors beheld each day fresh troops 
arriving before their city, and new ensigns and 
pennons displayed, emblazoned with arms well 
known to the veteran warriors. 

But the most arduous task was to keep up a 
regular supply of provisions. It was not the 
army alone that had to be supported, but also the 
captured towns and their garrisons ; for the whole 
country around them had been ravaged, and the 
conquerors were in danger of starving in the midst 
of the land they had desolated. To transport the 
daily supplies for such immense numbers, was a 
gigantic undertaking, in a country where there was 
neither water conveyance nor roads for carriages. 
Everything had to be borne by beasts of burden 
over rugged and broken paths of the mountains, 
and through dangerous defiles, exposed to the at- 
tacks and pi unde rings of the Moors. 

The wary and calculating merchants, accus- 
tomed to supply the army, shrank from engaging, 
at their own risk, in so hazardous an undertaking. 
The queen, therefore, hired fourteen thousand 
beasts of burden, and ordered all the wheat and 
barley to be bought up in Andalusia, and in tbe 
domains of the knights of Santiago and Calatrava. 
She intrusted the administration of these supplies 
to able and confidential persons. Some were em- 
ployed to collect the grain ; others, to take it to 
the mills : others, to superintend the grinding and 
delivery ; and others, to convey it to the camp. 
To every two hundred animals a muleteer was 
allotted, to take charge of them on the route. 



484 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Thus, great lines of convoys were in constant 
movement, traversing to and fro, guarded by large 
bodies of troops, to defend them from hovering 
parties of the Moors. Not a single day's inter- 
mission was allowed, for the army depended upor 
the constant arrival of these supplies for daily 
food. The grain, when brought into the camp 
was deposited in an immense granary, and sold 
to the army at a fixed price, which was nevei 
either raised or lowered. 

Incredible were the expenses incurred in these 
supplies ; but the queen had ghostly advisers 
thoroughly versed in the art of getting at the re- 
sources of the country. Many worthy prelates 
opened the deep purses of the church, and fur- 
nished loans from the revenues of their dioceses 
and convents ; and their pious contributions were 
eventually rewarded by Providence, a hundred 
fold. Merchants and other wealthy individuals, 
confident of the punctual faith of the queen, ad- 
vanced large sums on the security of her word ; 
many noble families lent their plate, without wait- 
ing to be asked. The queen also sold certain 
annual rents in inheritance at great sacrifices, as- 
signing the revenues of towns and cities for the 
payment. Finding all this insufficient to satisfy 
the enormous expenditure, she sent her gold and 
plate and all her jewels to the cities of Valentia 
and Barcelona, where they were pledged for a 
great amount of money, which was immediately 
Appropriated to keep up the supplies of the army. 

Thus, through the wonderful activity, judgment, 
and enterprise, of this heroic and magnanimous 



SCENE IN THE CAMP. 485 

woman, a great host, encamped in the heart of a 
warlike country, accessible only over mountain 
roads, was maintained in continual abundance. 
Nor was it supplied merely with the necessaries 
and comforts of life, The powerful escorts drew 
merchants and artificers from all parts, to repair, 
as if in caravans, to this great military market. 
In a little while, the camp abounded with trades- 
men and artists of all kinds, to administer to the 
luxury and ostentation of the youthful chivalry. 
Here might be seen cunning artificers in steel, and 
accomplished armorers, achieving those rare and 
sumptuous helmets and cuirasses, richly gilt, in- 
laid, and embossed, in which the Spanish cavaliers 
delighted. Saddlers and harness-makers and horse- 
milliners, also, were there, whose tents glittered 
with gorgeous housings and caparisons. The mer- 
chants spread forth their sumptuous silks, cloths, 
brocades, fine linen, and tapestry. The tents of 
the nobility were prodigally decorated with all 
kinds of the richest stuffs, and dazzled the eye 
with their magnificence : nor could the grave looks 
and grave speeches of King Ferdinand prevent his 
youthful cavaliers from vying with each other in 
the splendor of their dresses and caparisons, ou 
all occasious of parade and ceremony. 



Q3g£> 





&t&s&*J^ 



CHAPTER LXXVIII. 



Of the Disasters which befell the Camp. 




HILE the Christian camp, thus gay and 
gorgeous, spread itself out like a holiday 
pageant before the walls of Baza, — 
while a long line of beasts of burden laden with 
provisions and luxuries were seen descending the 
valley from morning till night, and pouring into 
the camp a continued stream of abundance, — 
the unfortunate garrison found their resources 
rapidly wasting away, and famine already began 
to pinch the peaceful part of the community. 

Cid Hiaya had acted with great spirit and valor, 
as long as there was any prospect of success ; but 
he began to lose his usual fire and animation, and 
was observed to pace the walls of Baza with a 
pensive air, casting many a wistful look towards 
the Christian camp, and sinking into profound 
reveries and cogitations. The veteran alcayde, 
Mohammed Ibn Hassan, noticed these desponding 
moods, and endeavored to rally the spirits of the 
prince. "The rainy season is at hand," would 
he cry ; " the floods will soon pour down from the 
mountains ; the rivers will overflow their banks, 
and inundate the valleys. The Christian king al- 
ready begins to waver ; he dare not linger, and en- 



TEE SOLDIER CITY. 487 

counter such a season, in a plain cut up by canals 
and rivulets. A single wintry storm from our 
mountains would wash away his canvas city, and 
sweep off those gay pavilions like wreaths of snow 
before the blast." 

The prince Cid Hiaya took heart at these 
words, and counted the days as they passed until 
the stormy season should commence. As he 
watched the Christian camp, he beheld it one 
morning in universal commotion : there was an 
unusual sound of hammers in every part, as if 
some new engines of war were constructing. At 
length, to his astonishment, the walls and roofs 
of houses began to appear above the bulwarks. 
In a little while, there were above a thousand 
edifices of wood and plaster erected, covered with 
tiles taken from the demolished . towers of the or- 
chards, and bearing the pennons of various com- 
manders and cavaliers ; while the common soldiery 
constructed huts, of clay and branches of trees, 
thatched with straw. Thus, to the dismay of the 
Moors, within four days, the light tents and gay 
pavilions which had whitened their hills and plains, 
passed away like summer clouds ; and the unsub- 
stantial camp assumed the solid appearance of a 
city laid out into streets and squares. In the 
centre rose a large edifice, which overlooked the 
whole ; and the royal standard of Aragon and 
Castile, proudly floating above it, showed it to be 
the palace of the king. 1 

Ferdinand had taken the sudden resolution thus 
to turn his camp into a city, partly to provide 
1 Cur a de los Palacios, Pulgar, etc. 



488 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

against the approaching season, and partly to con- 
vince the Moors of his fixed determination to con- 
tinue the siege. In their haste to erect their 
dwellings, however, the Spanish cavaliers had not 
properly considered the nature of the climate. 
For the greater part of the year, there scarcely 
falls a drop of rain on the thirsty soil of Andalusia. 
The ramblas, or dry channels of the torrents, re- 
main deep and arid gashes and clefts in the sides 
of the mountains ; the perennial streams shrink 
up to mere threads of water, which, tinkling down 
the bottoms of the deep barrancas or ravines, 
scarce feed and keep alive the rivers of the valleys. 
The rivers, almost lost in their wide and naked 
beds, seem like thirsty rills, winding in serpentine 
mazes through deserts of sand and stones ; and so 
shallow and tranquil in their course, as to be 
forded in safety in almost every part. One 
autumnal tempest, however, changes the whole 
face of nature : the clouds break in deluges 
among the vast congregation of mountains ; the 
ramblas are suddenly filled with raging floods ; 
the tinkling rivulets swell to thundering torrents, 
that come roaring down from the mountains, 
tumbling great masses of rocks in their career. 
The late meandering river spreads over its once 
naked bed, lashes its surges against the banks, 
and rushes like a wide and foaming inundation 
through the valley. 

Scarcely had the Christians finished their 
slightly-built edifices, when an autumnal tempest 
of the kind came scouring from the mountains. 
The camp was immediately overflowed. Many 



EFFECTS OF A TEMPEST. 489 

of the houses, undermined by the floods or beaten 
by the rain, crumbled away and fell to the earth, 
burjwng man and beast beneath their ruins. 
Several valuable lives were lost, and great num- 
bers of horses and other animals perished. To 
add to the distress and confusion of the camp, the 
daily supply of provisions suddenly ceased; for 
the rain had broken up the roads, and rendered 
the rivers impassable. A panic seized upon the 
army, for' the cessation of a single day's supply 
produced a scarcity of bread and provender. 
Fortunately the rain was but transient : the tor- 
rents rushed by, and ceased ; the rivers shrank 
back again to their narrow channels, and the con- 
voys which had been detained upon their banks 
arrived safely in the camp. 

No sooner did Queen Isabella hear of this in- 
terruption of her supplies, than, with her usual 
vigilance and activity, she provided against its 
recurrence. She dispatched six thousand foot- 
soldiers, under the command of experienced offi- 
cers, to repair the roads, and to make causeways 
and bridges for the distance of seven Spanish 
leagues. The troops, also, who had been sta- 
tioned in the mountains by the king to guard the 
defiles, made two paths, one for the convoys going 
to the camp, and the other for those returning, 
that they might not meet and impede each other. 
The edifices which had been demolished by the 
late floods were rebuilt in a firmer manner, and 
precautions were taken to prevent the camp from 
future inundations. 



CHAPTER LXXIX. 

Encounters between the Christians and Moors before Baza; 
and the Devotion of the Inhabitants to the Defense of their 

City. 




HEN King Ferdinand beheld the ravage 
and confusion produced by a single au- 
tumnal storm, and bethought him of all 
the maladies to which a besieging camp is ex- 
posed in inclement seasons, he began to feel his 
compassion kindling for the suffering people of 
Baza, and an inclination to grant them more fa- 
vorable terms. He sent, therefore, several mes- 
sages to the alcayde Mohammed Ibn Hassan, 
offering liberty of person and security of property 
for the inhabitants, and large rewards for himself, 
if he would surrender the city. 

The veteran was not to be dazzled by the 
splendid offers of the monarch ; he had received 
exaggerated accounts of the damage done to the 
Christian camp by the late storm, and of the suf- 
ferings and discontents of the armv in conse- 
quence of the transient interruption of supplies : 
he considered the- overtures of Ferdinand as 
proofs of the desperate state of his affairs. " A 
little more patience, a little more patience," said 
the shrewd old warrior, " and we shall see this 
crowd of Christian locusts driven away before 



ENCOUNTERS BEFORE BAZA. 491 

the winter storms. When they once turn their 
backs, it will be our turn to strike ; and. with the 
help of Allah, the blow shall be decisive." He 
sent a firm though courteous refusal to the Cas- 
tilian monarch, and in the mean time animated 
his companions to sally forth with more spirit 
than ever, to attack the Spanish outposts and 
those laboring in the trenches. The consequence 
was a daily occurrence of daring and bloody skir- 
mishes, that cost the lives of many of the bravest 
and most adventurous cavaliers of either army 

In one of these sallies, nearly three hundred 
horse and two thousand foot mounted the heights 
behind the city, to capture the Christians who 
were employed upon the works. They came by 
surprise upon a body of guards, esquires of the 
count de Urena, killed some, put the rest to flight, 
and pursued them down the mountain, until they 
came in sight of a small force under the count de 
Tendilla and Gonsalvo of Cordova. The Moors 
came rushing down with such fury that many of 
the men of the count de Tendilla took to flight. 
The count braced his buckler, grasped his trusty 
weapon, and stood his ground with his accustomed 
prowess. Gonsalvo of Cordova ranged himself 
by his side, and, marshaling the troops w r hich re- 
mained with them, they made a valiant front to 
the Moors. 

The infidels pressed them hard, and were gain- 
ing the advantage, when Alonzo de Aguilar, hear- 
ing of the danger of his brother Gonsalvo, flew 
to his assistance, accompanied by the count of 
Urena and a body of their troops. A fight en- 



492 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

sued, from cliff to cliff and glen to glen. The 
Moors were fewer in number, but excelled in 
the dexterity and lightness requisite for scram- 
bling skirmishes. They were at length driven 
from their vantage-ground, and pursued by Alonzo 
de Aguilar and his brother Gonsalvo to the very 
suburbs of the city, leaving many of their bravest 
men upon the field. 

Such was one of innumerable rough encoun- 
ters daily taking place, in which many brave 
cavaliers were slain, without apparent benefit to 
either party. The Moors, notwithstanding re- 
peated defeats and losses, continued to sally forth 
daily with astonishing spirit and vigor, and the 
obstinacy of their defense seemed to increase 
with their sufferings. 

The prince Cid Hiaya was ever foremost in 
these sallies, but grew daily more despairing of 
success. All the money in the military chest was 
expended, and there was no longer wherewithal 
to pay the^ hired troops. Still the veteran Mo- 
hammed undertook to provide for this emergency. 
Summoning the principal inhabitants, he repre- 
sented the necessity of some exertion and sacri- 
fice on their part to maintain the defense of the 
city. " The enemy," said he, " dreads the ap- 
proach of winter, and our perseverance drives 
him to despair. A little longer, and he will leave 
you in quiet enjoyment of your homes and fam- 
ilies. But our troops must be paid, to keep them 
in good heart. Our money is exhausted, and all 
our supplies are cut off. It is impossible to con- 
tinue our defense, without your aid." 



MOORISH ZEAL AND PUBLIC SPIRIT. 493 

Upon this the citizens consulted together, and 
collected all their vessels of gold and silver, and 
brought them to Mohammed : " Take these/' 
said they, " and coin, or sell, or pledge them, for 
money wherewith to pay the troops." The 
woman of Baza also were seized with generous 
emulation : " Shall we deck ourselves with gor- 
geous apparel," said they, " when our country is 
desolate, and its defenders in want of bread ? " 
So they took their collars, and bracelets, and an- 
klets, and other ornaments of gold, and all their 
jewels, and put them in the hands of the veteran 
alcayde : " Take these spoils of our vanity," 
said they, " and let them contribute to the defense 
of our homes and families. If Baza be delivered, 
we need no jewels to grace our rejoicing ; and if 
Baza fall, of what avail are ornaments to the cap- 
tive?" 

By these contributions was Mohammed enabled 
to pay the soldiery, and carry on the defense of 
the city with unabated spirit. 

Tidings were speedily conveyed to King Ferdi- 
nand, of this generous devotion on the part of the 
people of Baza, and the hopes which the Moorish 
commanders gave them that the Christian army 
would soon abandon the siege in despair. " They 
shall have a convincing proof of the fallacy of 
such hopes," said the politic monarch : so he 
wrote forthwith to Queen Isabella, praying her to 
come to the camp in state, with all her train and 
retinue, and publicly to take up her residence 
there for the winter. By this means the Moors 



494 



CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



would be convinced of the settled determination 
of the sovereigns to persist in the siege until the 
city should surrender, and he trusted they would 
be brought to speedy capitulation. 





CHAPTER LXXX. 

How Queen Isabella arrived at the Camp, and the Conse- 
quences of her Arrival. 

10HAMMED IBN HASSAN still en- 
couraged his companions with hopes that 
the royal army would soon relinquish 
the siege ; when they heard, one day, shouts of 
joy from the Christian camp, and thundering sal- 
vos of artillery. Word was brought, at the same 
time, from the sentinels on the watch-towers, that 
a Christian army was approaching down the val- 
ley. Mohammed and his fellow-commanders as- 
cended one of the highest towers of the walls, 
and beheld in truth a numerous force, in shin- 
ing array, descending the hills, and heard the dis- 
tant clangor of the trumpet and the faint swell of 
triumphant music. 

As the host drew nearer, they descried a stately 
dame magnificently attired, whom they soon dis- 
covered to be the queen. She was riding on a 
mule, the sumptuous trappings of which were re- 
splendent with gold, and reached to the ground. 
On her right hand rode her daughter, the princess 
Isabella, equally splendid in her array ; and oa 
her left the venerable grand cardinal of Spain. 
A noble train of ladies and cavaliers followed, 



496 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

together with pages and esquires, and a numerous 
guard of hidalgos of high rank, arrayed in su- 
perb armor. When the veteran Mohammed be- 
held the queen thus arriving in state to take up 
her residence in the camp, he shook his head 
mournfully, and, turning to his captains, " Cava- 
liers," said he, " the fate of Baza is decided ! " 

The Moorish commanders remained gazing with 
a mingled feeling of grief and admiration at this 
magnificent pageant, which foreboded the fall of 
their city. Some of the troops would have sallied 
forth on one of their desperate skirmishes to at- 
tack the royal guard; but the prince Cid Hiaya 
forbade them ; nor would he allow any artillery 
to be discharged, or any molestation or insult of- 
fered ; for the character of Isabella was venerated 
even by the Moors ; and most of the commanders 
possessed that high and chivalrous courtesy which 
belongs to heroic spirits — for they were among 
the noblest and bravest of the Moorish cava- 
liers. 

The inhabitants of Baza eagerly sought every 
eminence that could command a view of the plain ; 
and every battlement, and tower, and mosque, 
was covered with turbaned heads gazing at the 
glorious spectacle. They beheld King Ferdinand 
issue forth in royal state, attended by the mar- 
ques of Cadiz, the master of Santiago, the duke 
of Alva, the admiral of Castile, and many other 
nobles of renown ; while the whole chivalry of 
the camp, sumptuously arrayed, followed in his 
train, and the populace rent the air with accla- 
mations at the sight of the patriot queen. 



ISABELLA ARRIVES AT THE CAMP. 497 

When the sovereigns had met and embraced, 
the two hosts mingled together and entered the 
camp in martial pomp ; and the eyes of the in- 
fidel beholders were dazzled by the flash of ar- 
mor, the splendor of golden caparisons, the gor- 
geous display of silks, brocades, and velvets, of 
tossing plumes and fluttering banners. There 
was at the same time a triumphant sound of 
drums and trumpets, clarions and sackbuts, min- 
gled with the sweet melody of the dulcimer, which 
came swelling in bursts of harmony that seemed 
to rise up to the heavens. 1 

On the arrival of the queen (says the histo- 
rian Hernando del Pulgar, who was present at 
the time), it was marvelous to behold how all at 
once the rigor and turbulence of w T ar were soft- 
ened, and the storm of passion' sank into a calm. 
The sword was sheathed ; the cross-bow no longer 
launched its deadly shafts ; and the artillery, 
which had hitherto kept up an incessant uproar, 
now ceased its thundering. On both sides there 
was still a vigilant guard kept up ; the sentinels 
bristled the walls of Baza with their lances, and 
the guards patrolled the Christian camp ; but 
there was no sallying forth to skirmish, nor any 
wanton violence or carnage. 2 

Prince Cid Hiaya saw, by the arrival of the 
queen, that the Christians were determined to 
continue the siege, and he knew that the city 

1 Cura de los Palacios, cap 92. 

2 Many particulars of the scenes and occurrences at the 
siege of Baza are also furnished in the letters of the learned 
'^eter Martyr, who was present, and an admiring eye-witness. 

32 



498 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

would have to capitulate. He had been prodigal 
of the lives of his soldiers, as long as he thought 
a military good was to be gained by the sacrifice ; 
but he was sparing of their blood in a hopeless 
cause, and weary of exasperating the enemy by 
an obstinate yet hopeless defense. 

At the request of the prince, a parley was 
granted, and the master commander of Leon, Don 
Gutierrez de Cardenas, was appointed to confer 
with the veteran alcayde Mohammed. They met 
at an appointed place, within view of both camp 
and city, attended by cavaliers of either army. 
Their meeting was highly courteous, for they had 
learned, from rough encounters in the field, to 
admire each other's prowess. The commander 
of Leon, in an earnest speech, pointed out the 
hopelessness of any further defense, and warned 
Mohammed of the ills which Malaga had in- 
curred by its obstinacy. u I promise in the 
name of my sovereigns/' said he, " that . if you 
surrender immediately, the inhabitants shall be 
treated as subjects, and protected in property, 
liberty, and religion. If you refuse, you, who 
are now renowned as an able and judicious com- 
mander, will be chargeable with the confiscations, 
captivities, and deaths which may be suffered by 
the people of Baza." 

The commander ceased, and Mohammed re- 
turned to the city to consult with his companions. 
It was evident that all further resistance was 
hopeless ; but the Moorish commanders felt that 
a cloud might rest upon their names, should they, 
of their own discretion, surrender so important a 



THE MISSION TO GUADIX. 



499 



place without its having sustained an assault. 
Prince Cid Hiaya requested permission, therefore, 
to send an envoy to Guadix, with a letter to the 
old monarch El Zagal, treating of the surrender ; 
the request was granted, a safe conduct assured 
to the envoy, and Mohammed Ibn Hassan de- 
parted upon this momentous mission 




CHAPTER LXXXL 

Surrender of Baza. 




HE old warrior king was seated in an 
inner chamber of the castle of Guadix, 
much cast down in spirit, and rumina- 
ting on his gloomy fortunes, when an envoy from 
Baza was announced, and the veteran alcayde 
Mohammed stood before him. Ei Zagal saw dis- 
astrous tidings written in his countenance : fa How 
fares it with Baza?" said he, summoning up his 
spirits to the question. * Let this inform thee," 
replied Mohammed ; and he delivered into his 
hands the letter from the prince Cid Hiaya. 

The letter spoke of the desperate situation of 
Baza; the impossibility of holding out longer, 
without assistance from El Zagal ; and the favor- 
able terms held out by the Castilian sovereigns. 
Had it been written by any other person, El 
Zagal might have received it with distrust and 
indignation ; but he confided in Cid Hiaya as in 
a second self, and the words of his letter sank 
deep in his heart. When he had finished reading 
it, he sighed deeply, and remained for some time 
lost in thought, with his head drooping upon his 
bosom. Recovering himself at length, he called 
together the alfaquis and the old men of Guadix, 
and solicited their advice. It was a sign of sore 



EL Z AG ADS DESPAIR, 501 

(rouble of mind and dejection of heart, when El 
Zagal sought the advice of others ; but his fierce 
courage was tamed, for he saw the end of his 
power approaching. The alfaquis and the old 
men did but increase the distraction of his mind 
by a variety of counsel, none of which appeared 
of any avail ; for unless Baza were succored, it 
was impossible that it should hold out ; and every 
attempt to succor it had proved ineffectual. 

El Zagal dismissed his council in despair, and 
summoned the veteran Mohammed before him. 
" God is great," exclaimed he ; " there is but one 
God, and Mahomet is his prophet ! Return to 
my cousin, Cid Hiaya ; tell him it is out of my 
power to aid him ; he must do as seems to him 
for the best. The people of Baza have per- 
formed deeds worthy of immortal fame ; I cannot 
ask them to encounter further ills and perils, in 
maintaining a hopeless defense." 

The reply of El Zagal determined the fate of 
the city. Cid Hiaya and his fellow-commanders 
capitulated, and were granted the most favorable 
terms. The cavaliers and soldiers who had come 
from other parts to the defense of the place were 
permitted to depart with their arms, horses, and 
effects. The inhabitants had their choice, either 
to depart with their property, or dwell in the 
suburbs, in the enjoyment of their religion and 
laws, taking an oath of fealty to the sovereigns, 
and paying the same tribute they had paid to the 
Moorish kings. The city and citadel were to be 
delivered up in six days, within which period the 
inhabitants were to remove all their effects; and 



502 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

in the mean time they were to place, as hostages, 
fifteen Moorish youths, sons of the principal in- 
habitants, in the hands of the commander of 
Leon. When Cid Hiaya and the alcayde Mo- 
hammed came to deliver up the hostages, among 
whom were the sons of the latter, they paid hom- 
age to the king and queen, who received them 
with the utmost courtesy and kindness, and or- 
dered magnificent presents to be given to them, 
and likewise to the other Moorish cavaliers, con- 
sisting of money, robes, horses, and other things 
of great value. 

The prince Cid Hiaya was so captivated by 
the grace, the dignity, and generosity of Isabella, 
and the princely courtesy of Ferdinand, that he 
vowed never again to draw his sword against such 
magnanimous sovereigns. The queen, charmed 
with his gallant bearing and his animated profes- 
sions of devotion, assured him that, having him 
on her side, she already considered the war ter- 
minated which had desolated the kingdom of 
Granada. 

Mighty and irresistible are the words of praise 
from the lips of sovereigns. Cid Hiaya was en- 
tirely subdued by this fair speech from the illus- 
trious Isabella. His heart burned with a sudden 
flame of loyalty towards the sovereigns. He 
begged to be enrolled amongst the most devoted 
of their subjects ; and, in the fervor of his sud- 
den zeal, engaged not merely to dedicate his 
sword to their service, but to exert all his influ- 
ence, which was great, in persuading his cousin, 
Muley Abdallah el Zagal, to surrender the cities 



CONVERSION OF C1D EI AY A. 503 

of Guadix and Almeria, and to give up all fur- 
ther hostilities. Nay, so powerful was the effect 
produced upon his mind by his conversation with 
the sovereigns, that it extended even to his re- 
ligion ; for he became immediately enlightened 
as to the heathenish abominations of the vile sect 
of Mahomet, and struck with the truths of Chris- 
tianity, as illustrated by such powerful monarchs. 
He consented, therefore, to be baptized, and to be 
gathered into the fold of the church. The pious 
Agapida indulges in a triumphant strain of ex- 
ultation on the sudden and surprising conversion 
of this princely infidel: he considers it one of 
the greatest achievements of the Catholic sove- 
reigns, and, indeed, one of the marvelous occur- 
rences of this holy war. "But it is given to 
saints and pious monarchs," says he, " to work 
miracles in the cause of the faith ; and such did 
the most Catholic Ferdinand in the conversion 
of the prince Cid Hiaya." 

Some of the Arabian writers have sought to 
lessen the wonder of this miracle, by alluding to 
great revenues granted to the prince and his 
heirs by the Castilian monarchs, together with a 
territory in Marchena, w r ith towns, lands, and 
vassals ; but in this (says Agapida) we only see 
a wise precaution of King Ferdinand to clinch 
and secure the conversion of his proselyte. The 
policy of the Catholic monarch was at all times 
equal to his piety. Instead, also, of vaunting of 
this great conversion, and making a public parade 
of the entry of the prince into the church, King 
Ferdinand ordered that the baptism should be 



504 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

performed in private, and kept a profound secret. 
He feared that Cid Hiaya might otherwise be 
denounced as an apostate, and abhorred and aban- 
doned by the Moors, and thus his influence de- 
stroyed in bringing the war to a speedy termina- 
tion. 1 

The veteran Mohammed Ibn Hassan was like- 
wise won by the magnanimity and munificence of 
the Castilian sovereigns, and entreated to be re- 
ceived into their service ; and his example was 
followed by many other Moorish cavaliers, whose 
services were generously accepted and magnifi- 
cently rewarded. 

Thus, after a siege of six months and twenty 
days, the city of Baza surrendered on the 4th of 
December, 1489 ; the festival of the glorious 
Santa Barbara, who is said, in the Catholic cal- 
endar, to preside over thunder and lightning, fire 
and gunpowder, and all kinds of combustions ex- 
plosions. The king and queen made their solemn 
and triumphant entry on the following day ; and 
the public joy was heightened by the sight of 
upwards of five hundred Christian captives, men, 
women, and children, delivered from the Moorish 
dungeons. 

The loss of the Christians in this siege amounted 
to twenty thousand men, of whom seventeen 
thousand died of disease, and not a few of mere 
cold — a kind of death (says the historian Mari- 
ana) peculiarly uncomfortable ; but (adds the 
venerable Jesuit), as these latter were chiefly 
people of ignoble rank, baggage-carriers and sucb 
like, the loss was not of great importance. 
1 Conde, torn. 3, cap. 40. 



POLITIC LIBERALITY. 505 

The surrender of Baza was followed by that of 
Almunecar, Tavernas, and most of the fortresses 
of the Alpuxarra mountains ; the inhabitants 
hoped, by prompt and voluntary submission, to 
secure equally favorable terms with those granted 
to the captured city, and the alcaydes to receive 
similar rewards to those lavished on its comman- 
ders ; nor were either of them disappointed. 
The inhabitants were permitted to remain as 
Mudexares, in the quiet enjoyment of their prop- 
erty and religion ; and as to the alcaydes, when 
they came to the camp to render up their charges, 
they were received by Ferdinand with distin- 
guished favor, and rewarded with presents of money 
in proportion to the importance of the places they 
had commanded. Care was taken by the politic 
monarch, however, not to wound their pride nor 
shock their delicacy ; so these sums were paid 
under color of arrears due to them for their ser- 
vices to the former government. Ferdinand had 
conquered by dint of sword, in the earlier part of 
the war; but he found gold as potent as steel, iu 
this campaign of Baza. 

With several of these mercenary chieftains 
came one named Ali Aben Fahar, a seasoned 
warrior, who had held many important commands. 
He was a Moor of a lofty, stern, and melancholy 
aspect, and stood silent and apart, while his com- 
panions surrendered their several fortresses and 
retired laden with treasure. When it came to his 
turn to speak, he addressed the sovereigns with 
the frankness of a soldier, but with the tone of 
dejection and despair. 



506 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

" I am a Moor," said he, " and of Moorish lin- 
eage, and am aleayde of the fair towns and castles 
of Purchena and Paterna. These were intrusted to 
me to defend ; but those who should have stood 
by me have lost all strength and courage, and 
geek only for security. These fortresses, there- 
fore, most potent sovereigns, are yours, whenever 
you will send to take possession of them." 

Large sums of gold were immediately ordered 
by Ferdinand to be delivered to the aleayde, as a 
recompense for so important a surrender. The 
Moor, however, put back the gift with a firm and 
dignified demeanor : " I came not," said he, " to 
sell what is not mine, but to yield what fortune 
has made yours; and your majesties may rest 
assured that, had I been properly seconded, death 
would have been the price at which I would 
have sold my fortresses, and not the gold you 
offer me," 

The Castilian monarchs were struck with the 
lofty and loyal spirit of the Moor, and desired to 
engage a man of such fidelity in their service ; 
but the proud Moslem could not be induced to 
serve the enemies of his nation and his faith. 

"Is there nothing, then/' said Queen Isabella, 
" that we can do to gratify thee, and to prove to 
thee our regard ? " " Yes," replied the Moor ; 
" I have left behind me, in the towns and valleys 
which I have surrendered, many of my unhappy 
countrymen, with their wives and children, who 
cannot tear themselves from their native abodes. 
Give me your royal word that they shall be pro- 
tected in the peaceable enjoyment of their religiou 



A FALLEN PATRIOT. 507 

and their homes." " We promise it," said Isabella; 
" they shall dwell in peace and security. But 
for thyself — what dost thou ask for thyself?" 
" Nothing," replied Ali, " but permission to pass 
unmolested, with my horses and effects, into 
Africa." 

The Castilian monarchs would fain have forced 
upon him gold and silver, and superb horses 
richly caparisoned, not as rewards, but as marks 
of personal esteem ; but Ali Aben Fahar declined 
all presents and distinctions, as if he thought it 
criminal to flourish individually during a time of 
public distress ; and disdained all prosperity, that 
seemed to grow out of the ruins of his country. 

Having received a royal passport, he gathered 
together his horses and servants, his armor and 
weapons, and all his warlike effects ; bade adieu 
to his weeping countrymen with a brow stamped 
with anguish, but without shedding a tear; and, 
mounting his Barbary steed, turned his back 
upon the delightful valleys of his conquered coun- 
try, departing on his lonely way, to seek a sol- 
dier's fortune amidst the burning sands of Africa. 1 

iPulgar, pt. 3, cap. 124. Garibay, lib. 40, cap. 40. Cura 
fk I03 Palacios. 




CHAPTER -LXXXII. 



Submission of El Zagal to the Castilian Sovereigns. 




VI L tidings never fail by the way, 
through lack of messengers ; they are 
wafted on the wings of the wind, and it 
is as if the very birds of the air wonld bear them 
to the ear of the unfortunate. The old king El 
Zagal buried himself in the recesses of his castle, 
to hide himself from the light of day, which no 
longer shone prosperously upon him ; but every 
hour brought missives thundering at the gate, 
with the tale of some new disaster. Fortress 
after fortress had laid its keys at the feet of the 
Christian sovereigns : strip by strip, of warrior 
mountain and green, fruitful valley, was torn from 
his domains, and added to the territories of the 
conquerors. Scarcely a remnant remained to him, 
except a tract of the Alpuxarras, and the noble 
cities of Guadix and Almeria. No one any longer 
stood in awe of the fierce old monarch ; the terror 
of his frown had declined with his power. He had 
arrived at that state of adversity, when a man's 
friends feel emboldened to tell him hard truths, 
and to give him unpalatable advice ; and when 
his spirit is bowed down to listen quietly, if not 
meekly. 



CID HIAYA' S MISSION. 509 

El Zagal was seated on his divan, his whole 
spirit absorbed in rumination on the transitory 
nature of human glory, when his kinsman and 
brother-in-law, the prince Cid Hiaya, was an- 
nounced. That illustrious convert to the true 
faith and the interests of the conquerors of his 
country, had hastened to Guadix with all the 
fervor of a new proselyte, eager to prove his zeal 
in the service of Heaven and the Castilian sove- 
reigns, by persuading the old monarch to abjure 
his faith and surrender his possessions. 

Cid Hiaya still bore the guise of a Moslem, 
for his conversion was as yet a secret. The stern 
heart of El Zagal softened at beholding the face 
of a kinsman, in this hour of adversity. He 
folded his cousin to his bosom, and gave thanks 
to Allah that amidst all his troubles he had still 
a friend and counselor on whom he might rely. 

Cid Hiaya soon entered upon the real pur- 
pose of his mission. He represented to El Zagal 
the desperate state of affairs, and the irretrievable 
decline of Moorish power in the kingdom of Gra- 
nada. u Fate," said he, " is against our arms ; 
our ruin is written in the heavens. Remember 
the prediction of the astrologers, at the birth of 
your nephew Boabdil. We hoped that their 
prediction was accomplished by his capture at 
Lucena ; but it is now evident that the stars por- 
tended not a temporary and passing reverse of 
the kingdom, but a final overthrow. The con- 
stant succession of disasters which have attended 
our efforts, show that the sceptre of Granada is 
doomed to pass into the hands of the Christian 



510 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

monarclis. Such," concluded the prince emphat- 
ically, and with a profound and pious reverence, 
" such is the almighty will of God ! " 

El Zagai listened to these words in mute atten- 
tion, without so much as moving a muscle of his 
face, or winking an eyelid. When the prince had 
concluded, he remained for a long time silent and 
pensive ; at length, heaving a profound sigh from 
the very bottom of his heart, u Alahuma subahana 
hu ! " exclaimed he, ki the will of God be done ! 
Yes, my cousin, it is but too evident that such is 
the will of Allah ; and what he wills, he fails not 
to accomplish. Had he not decreed the fall of 
Granada, this arm and this scimetar would have 
maintained it." 1 

" What then remains," said Cid Hiaya, * but to 
draw the most advantage from the wreck of em- 
pire left to you ? To persist in a war is to bring 
complete desolation upon the land, and ruin and 
death upon its faithful inhabitants. Are you dis- 
posed to yield up your remaining towns to your 
nephew El Chico, that they may augment his 
power, and derive protection from his alliance with 
the Christian sovereigns?" 

The eye of El Zagal flashed fire at this sug- 
gestion. He grasped the hilt of his scimetar, and 
gnashed his teeth in fury. " Never," cried he, 
" will I make terms with that recreant and 
slave ! Sooner would I see the banners of the 
Christian monarchs floating above my walls, than 
they should add to the possessions of the vassal 
Boabdil ! " 

1 Conde, torn. 3, cap. 40. 



SUBMISSION OF EL ZAGAL. 511 

Cid Hiaya immediately seized upon this idea, 
and urged El Zagal to make a frank and entire 
surrender: u Trust," said he, t; to the magnan- 
imity of the Castilian sovereigns ; they will doubt- 
less grant you high and honorable terms. It is 
better to yield to them as friends, what they must 
infallibly and before long wrest from you as ene- 
mies ; for such, my cousin, is the almighty will 
of God ! " 

" Alahuma subahana hu ! " repeated El Zagal, 
" the will of God be done ! " So the old mon- 
arch bowed his haughty neck, and agreed to sur- 
render his territories to the enemies of his faith, 
rather than suffer them to augment the Moslem 
power under the sway of his nephew. 

Cid Hiaya now returned to Baza, empowered 
by El Zagal to treat on his behalf with the 
Christian sovereigns. The prince felt a species 
of exultation, as he expatiated on the rich relics 
of empire which he was authorized to cede. 
There was a great part of that line of mountains 
extending from the metropolis to the Mediter- 
ranean sea, with their series of beautiful green 
valleys, like precious emeralds set in a golden 
chain. Above all, there were Guadix and Al- 
meria, two of the most inestimable jewels in the 
crown of Granada. 

In return for these possessions, and for the 
claim of El Zagal to the rest of the kingdom, the 
sovereigns received him into their friendship and 
alliance, and gave him in perpetual inheritance 
the territory of Andarax and the valley of Al- 
haurin in the Alpuxarras, with the fourth part of 



512 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the salinas or salt-pits of Malaha. He was to en- 
joy the title of king of Andarax, with two thou- 
sand Mudexares, or conquered Moors, for subjects ; 
and his revenues were to be made up to the sum 
of four millions of marevedis. All these he was 
to hold as a vassal of the Castilian crown. 

These arrangements being made, Cid Hiaya 
returned with them to Muley Abdaliah ; and it 
was concerted that the ceremony of surrender and 
homage should take place at the city of Almeria. 

On the 17th of December King Ferdinand 
departed for that city. Cid Hiaya and his prin 
cipal officers, incorporated with a division com- 
manded by the count de Tendilla, marched in the 
van-guard. The king was with the centre of the 
army, and the queen with the rear-guard. In 
this martial state Ferdinand passed by several of 
the newly acquired towns, exulting in these tro- 
phies of his policy rather than his valor. In trav- 
ersing the mountainous region, which extends 
towards the Mediterranean, the army suffered ex- 
ceedingly- from raging vandavales, or southwest 
gales, accompanied by snow-storms. Several of 
the soldiers and many horses and beasts of bur- 
den, perished with the cold. One of the divisions 
under the marques of Cadiz, found it impossible 
to traverse in one day the frozen summits of Fil- 
abres, and had to pass the night in those inclement 
regions. The marques caused two immense fires 
to be kindled in the vicinity of his encampment 
to guide and enlighten those lost and wandering 
among the defiles, and to warm those who were 
benumbed and almost frozen. 



CAPITULATION OF EL ZAGAL. 513 

The king halted at Tavernas, to collect his scat- 
tered troops and give them time to breathe after 
the hardships of the mountains. The queen was 
travelling a day's march in the rear. 

On the 21st of December, the king arrived and 
encamped in the vicinity of Almeria. Under- 
standing that El Zagal was sallying forth to 
pay him homage, according to appointment, he 
mounted on horseback and rode forth to receive 
him, attended by Don Alonzo de Cardenas, mas- 
ter of Santiago, on his right hand, and the mar- 
ques of Cadiz on his left, and dispatched in the 
advance Don Gutierrez de Cardenas, commander 
of Leon, and other cavaliers to meet and. form an 
honorable escort to the Moorish monarch. With 
this escort went that curious eye-witness, Peter 
Martyr, from whom we have many of these par- 
ticulars. 

El Zagal was accompanied by twelve cavaliers 
on horseback, among whom was his cousin, the 
prince Cid Hiaya (who had no doubt joined him 
from the Spanish camp) and the brave Red u an 
Vanegas. Peter Martyr declares that the appear- 
ance of El Zagal touched him with compassion, 
for though a "lawless barbarian, he was a king, 
and had given signal proofs of heroism." The 
historian Palencia gives us a particular descrip- 
tion of his appearance. He was, says he, of 
elevated stature and well proportioned, neither 
robust nor meagre ; the natural fairness of his 
countenance was increased by an extreme pale- 
ness which gave it a melancholy expression. His 

aspect was grave ; his movements were quiet, 
33 



514 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

noble, and dignified. He was modestly attired in 
a garb of mourning, a sayo, or loose surcoat, of 
dark cloth, a simple albornoz or Moorish mantle, 
and a turban of dazzling whiteness. 

On being met by the commander, Gutierrez de 
Cardenas, El Zagal saluted him courteously, as 
well as the cavaliers who accompanied him, and 
rode on, conversing with him through the medium 
of interpreters. Beholding King Ferdinand and 
his splendid train at a distance, he alighted and 
advanced towards him on foot. The punctilious 
Ferdinand supposing this voluntary act of humil- 
iation had been imposed by Don Gutierrez, told 
that cavalier, with some asperity, that it was an 
act of great discourtesy to cause a vanquished 
king to alight before another king who was victo- 
rious. At the same time he made him signs to 
remount his horse and place himself by his side. 
El Zagal, persisting in his act of homage, offered 
to kiss the king's hand ; but being prevented by 
that monarch, he kissed his own hand, as the 
Moorish cavaliers were accustomed to do in 
presence of their sovereigns ; and accompanied 
the gesture by a few words expressive of obe- 
dience and fealty. Ferdinand replied in a gra- 
cious and amiable manner ; and causing him to 
remount and place himself on his left hand, they 
proceeded, followed by the whole train to the 
royal pavilion, pitched in the most conspicuous 
part of the camp. 

There a banquet was served up to the two 
kings, accoiding to the rigorous style and etiquette 
of the Spanish court. They were seated in two 



FORMAL SURRENDER OF ALMER1A. 515 

chairs of state under the same canopy, El Zagal 
on the left hand of Ferdinand. The cavaliers 
and courtiers admitted to the royal pavilion re- 
mained standing. The count de Tendilla served 
the viands to King Ferdinand in golden dishes, 
and the count Cifuentes gave him to drink out 
of cups of the same precious metal ; Don Al- 
vara Bazan and Garcilasso de la Vega performed 
the same offices in similar style and with vessels 
of equal richness, to the Moorish monarch. 

The banquet ended, El Zagal took courteous 
leave of Ferdinand, and sallied from the pavilion 
attended by the cavaliers who had r>een present. 
Each of these now made himself known to the 
old monarch by his name, title or dignity, and 
each received an affable gesture in reply. They 
would all have escorted the old king back to the 
gates of Almeria, but he insisted on their remain- 
ing in the camp, and with difficulty could be per- 
suaded upon to accept the honorable attendance 
of the marques of Villena, the commander, Don 
Gutierrez de Cardenas, the count de Cifuentes, 
and Don Luis Puerto Carrero. 

On the following morning (2 2d December), 
the troops were all drawn out in splendid array 
in front of the camp, awaiting the signal of the 
formal surrender of the city. This was given at 
midday, when the gates were thrown open and a 
corps marched in, led by Don Gutierrez de Car- 
denas, who had been appointed governor. In a 
little while the gleam of Christian warriors was 
seen on the walls and bulwarks ; the blessed cross 
was planted in place of the standard of Mahomet, 



516 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and the banner of the sovereigns floated trium- 
phantly above the Alcazar. At the same time'a 
numerous deputation of alfaquis and the noblest 
and wealthiest inhabitants of the place sallied 
forth to pay homage to King Ferdinand. 

On the 23d of December, the king himself en- 
tered the city with grand military and religious 
pomp, and repaired to the mosque of the castle, 
which had been previously purified and sancti- 
fied and converted into a Christian temple ; here 
grand mass was performed in solemn celebration 
of this great triumph of the faith. 

These ceremonies were scarcely completed, 
when joyful notice was given of the approach of 
the Queen Isabella, with the rear-guard of the 
army. She came accompanied by the princess 
Isabella, and attended by her ghostly counselor, 
the cardinal Mendoza, and her confessor, Talavera. 
The king sallied forth to meet her, accompanied 
by El Zagal, and it is said the reception of the 
latter by the queen was characterized by that def- 
erence and considerate delicacy which belonged 
to her magnanimous nature. 

The surrender of Almeria was followed by 
that of Almuiiecar Salobrina, and other fortified 
places of the coast and the interior, and detach- 
ments of Christian troops took quiet possession 
of the Alpuxarra mountains and their secluded 
and fertile valleys. 1 

1 Cur a de bs Palacios, cap. 93, 94. Pulgar, Crort. pt. 3, 
cap. 124. Garibay, Comp. Hist. lib. 18, cap. 37, &c, &c, 




CHAPTER LXXXIII. 

Events at Granada, subsequent to the Submission of El Zagal. 

HO can tell when to rejoice, in this 
fluctuating world ? Every wave of pros- 
perity has its reacting surge, and we 
are often overwhelmed by the very billow on 
which we thought to be wafted into the haven of 
our hopes. When Yusef Aben Comixa, the 
vizier of Boabdil, surnamed El Chico, entered 
the royal saloon of the Alhambra and announced 
the capitulation of El Zagal, the heart of the 
youthful monarch leaped for joy. His great wish 
was accomplished ; his uncle was defeated and 
dethroned, and he reigned without a rival, sole 
monarch of Granada. At length, he was about 
to enjoy the fruits of his humiliation and vassal- 
age. He beheld his throne fortified by the friend- 
ship and alliance of the Castilian monarchs ; there 
could be no question, therefore, of its stability. 
" Allah Achbar ! God is great ! " exclaimed he ; 
' Rejoice with me, O Yusef; the stars have ceased 
(heir persecution. Henceforth let no man call me 
El Zogoybi." 

In the first moment of his exultation, Boabdil 
would have ordered public rejoicings ; but the 
shrewd Yusef shook his head. " The tempest 



518 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

has ceased, from one point of the heavens," said 
he, "but it may begin to rage from another. A 
troubled sea is beneath us, and we are surrounded 
by rocks and quicksands : let my lord the king 
defer rejoicings, until all has settled into a calm." 
El Chico, however, could not remain tranquil in 
this day of exultation : he ordered his steed to be 
sumptuously caparisoned, and issuing out of the 
gate of the Alhambra, descended, with glittering 
retinue, along the avenue of trees and fountains, 
into the city, to receive the acclamations of the 
populace. As he entered the great square of the 
Vivarrambla, he beheld crowds of people in 
violent agitation ; but, as he approached, what 
was his surprise, to hear groans and murmurs and 
bursts of execration ! The tidings had spread 
through Granada, that Muley Abdallah El Zagal 
had been driven to capitulate, and that all his 
territories had fallen into the hands of the Chris- 
tians. No one had inquired into the particulars, 
but all Granada had been thrown into a ferment 
of grief and indignation. In the heat of the 
moment, old Muley was extolled to the skies as a 
patriot prince, who had fought to the last for the 
salvation of his country — as a mirror of mon- 
archs, scorning to compromise the dignity of his 
crown by any act of vassalage. Boabdil, on the 
contrary, had looked on exultingly at the hopeless 
yet heroic struggle of his uncle ; he had rejoiced 
in the defeat of the faithful, and the triumph of 
unbelievers ; he had aided in the dismemberment 
and downfall of the empire. When they beheld 
him riding forth in gorgeous state, on what they 



SURRENDER OF GRANADA DEMANDED. 519 

considered a day of humiliation for all true Mos- 
lems, they could not contain their rage ; and 
amidst the clamors that met his ears, Boabdil 
more than once head his name coupled with the 
epithets of traitor and renegado. 

Shocked and discomfited, the youthful monarch 
returned in confusion to the Alhambra ; shut him- 
self up within its innermost courts, and remained 
a kind of voluntary prisoner until the first burst of 
popular feeling should subside. He trusted that it 
would soon pass away ; that the people would be 
too sensible of the sweets of peace, to repine at 
the price at which it was obtained ; at any rate, 
he trusted to the strong friendship of the Chris- 
tian sovereigns, to secure him even against the 
factions of his subjects. 

The first missives from the politic Ferdinand 
showed Boabdil the value of his friendship. The 
Christian monarch reminded him of a treaty 
which he had made when captured in the city of 
Loxa. By this, he had engaged that, in case the 
Catholic sovereigns should capture the cities of 
Guadix, Baza, and Almeria, he would surrender 
Granada into their hands within a limited time, 
and accept in exchange certain Moorish towns, to 
be held by him as their vassal. Guadix, Baza, 
and Almeria, had now fallen ; Ferdinand called 
upon him, therefore, to fulfill his engagement. 

If the unfortunate Boabdil had possessed the 
will, he had not the power to comply with this 
demand. He was shut up in the Alhambra, while 
a tempest of popular fury raged without. Gra 
nada was thronged by refugees from the capturei 



520 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

towns, many of them disbanded soldiers, and others 
broken-down citizens, rendered fierce and desper- 
ate by ruin. All railed at him, as the real cause 
of their misfortunes. How was he to venture 
forth in such a storm ? — above all, how was he 
to talk to such men of surrender ? In his reply 
to Ferdinand, he represented the difficulties of 
his situation, and that, so far from having control 
over his subjects, his very life was in danger from 
their turbulence. He entreated the king, there- 
fore, to rest satisfied for the present with his re- 
cent conquests, promising that should he be able 
to regain full empire over his capital and its in- 
habitants, it would be but to rule over them as 
vassal to the Castilian crown. 

Ferdinand was not to be satisfied with such a 
reply. The time was come to bring his game of 
policy to a close, and to consummate his conquest, 
by seating himself on the throne of the Alhambra. 
Professing to consider Boabdil as a faithless ally, 
who had broken his plighted word, he discarded 
him from his friendship, and addressed a second 
letter, not to him, but to the commanders and 
council of the city. He demanded a complete 
surrender of the place, with all the arms in the 
possession either of the citizens or of others who 
had recently taken refuge within its walls. If the 
inhabitants should comply with this summons, he 
promised them the indulgent terms granted to 
Baza, Guadix, and Almeria ; if they should refuse, 
he threatened them with the fate of Malaga. 1 

This message produced the greatest commotiou 
1 Cura de los Palacios, cap. 96. 



MUZA ABUL GAZAN. 521 

in the city. The inhabitants of the Alcaiceria, 
that busy hive of traffic, and all others who had 
tasted the sweets of gainful commerce during the 
late cessation of hostilities, were for securing their 
golden advantages by timely submission : others, 
who had wives and children, looked on them with 
tenderness and solicitude, and dreaded, by resis- 
tance, to bring upon them the horrors of slavery. 

On the other hand, Granada was crowded with 
men from all parts, ruined by the war, exasperated 
by their sufferings, and eager only for revenge ; 
with others, who had been reared amidst hostilities, 
who had lived by the sword, and whom a return 
of peace would leave without home or hope. 
Besides these, there were others no less fiery and 
warlike in disposition, but animated by a loftier 
spirit. These were valiant and haughty cavaliers 
of the old chivalrous lineages, who had inherited 
a deadly hatred to the Christians from a long line 
of warrior ancestors, and to whom the idea was 
worse than death, that Granada, illustrious Gra- 
nada ! for ages the seat of Moorish grandeur and 
delight, should become the abode of unbelievers. 

Among these cavaliers, the most eminent was 
Muza Abul Gazan. He was of royal lineage, of 
a proud and generous nature, and a form combin- 
ing manly strength and beauty. None could excel 
him in the management of the horse, and dexter- 
ous use of all kinds of weapons : his gracefulness 
and skill in the tourney were the theme of praise 
among the Moorish dames, and his prowess in the 
field had made him the terror of the enemy. He 
had long repined at the timid policy of Boabdil, 



522 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and endeavored to counteract its enervating ef- 
fects, and keep alive the martial spint of Granada. 
For this reason, he had promoted jousts and tilt— 
ings with the reed, and all those other public 
games which bear the semblance of war. He en- 
deavored also to inculcate into his companions in 
arms those high chivalrous sentiments which lead 
to valiant and magnanimous deeds, but which are 
apt to decline with the independence of a nation. 
The generous efforts of Muza had been in a great 
measure successful : he was the idol of the youth- 
ful cavaliers ; they regarded him as a mirror of 
chivalry, and endeavored to imitate his lofty and 
heroic virtues. 

When Muza heard the demand of Ferdinand 
that they should deliver up their arms, his eye 
flashed fire : " Does the Christian king think that 
we are old men," said he, " and that staffs will 
suffice us ? — or that we are women, and can be 
contented with distaffs? Let him know that a 
Moor is born to the spear and scimetar; to career 
the steed, bend the bow, and launch the javelin : 
deprive him of these, and you deprive him of his 
nature. If the Christian king desires our arms, 
let him come and win them ; but let him win 
them dearly. For my part, sweeter were a grave 
beneath the walls of Granada, on the spot I had 
died to defend, than the richest couch within her 
palaces, earned by submission to the unbeliever." 

The words of Muza were received with enthu- 
siastic shouts, by the warlike part of the popu- 
lace. Granada once more awoke, as a warrior 
shaking off a disgraceful lethargy. The com- 



REFUSAL TO SURRENDER. 



523 



manders and council partook of the public excite- 
ment, and dispatched a reply to the Christian 
sovereigns, declaring that they would suffer death 
rather than surrender their city. 




CHAPTER LXXXIV. 

How King Ferdinand turned his Hostilities against the City 
of Granada. 




iHEN Kins' Ferdinand received the de- 
fiance of the Moors, he made prepara 
tions for bitter hostilities. The winter 
season did not admit of an immediate campaign ; 
he contented himself, therefore, with throwing 
strong garrisons into all his towns and fortresses 
in the neighborhood of Granada, and gave the 
command of all the frontier of Jaen to Inigo 
Lopez de Mendoza, count of Tendilla, who had 
shown such consummate vigilance and address in 
maintaining the dangerous post of Alhama. This 
renowned veteran established his head-quarters 
in the mountain city of Alcala la Real, within 
eight leagues of the city of Granada, and com- 
manding the most important passes of that rug- 
ged frontier. 

In the mean time, Granada resounded with 
the stir of war. The chivalry of the nation had 
again control of its councils ; and the populace, 
having once more resumed their weapons, were 
anxious to wipe out the disgrace of their late 
passive submission, by signal and daring exploits. 

Muza Abul Gazan was the soul of action. He 
commanded the cavalry, which he had disciplined 



FERDINAND'S POLICY. 525 

with uncommon skill ; he was surrounded by the 
noblest youth of Granada, who had caught his 
own generous and martial fire, and panted for 
the field ; while the common soldiers, devoted to 
his person, were ready to follow him in the most 
desperate enterprises. He did not allow their 
courage to cool for want of action. The gates 
of Granada once more poured forth legions of 
light scouring cavalry, which skirred the country 
up to the very gates of the Christian fortresses, 
sweeping off flocks and herds. The name of 
Muza became formidable throughout the frontier ; 
he had many encounters with the enemy in the 
rough passes of the mountains, in which the su- 
perior lightness and dexterity of his cavalry gave 
him the advantage. The sight of his glistening 
legion, returning across the vega with long caval- 
gadas of booty, was hailed by the Moors as a 
revival of their ancient triumphs ; but when they 
beheld Christian banners borne into their gates 
as trophies, the exultation of the light-minded 
populace was beyond all bounds. 

The winter passed away ; the spring advanced, 
yet Ferdinand delayed to take the field. He knew 
the city of Granada was too strong and populous 
to be taken by assault, and too full of provisions 
to be speedily reduced by siege. " We must have 
patience and perseverance," said the politic mon- 
arch ; "by ravaging the country this year, we 
shall produce a scarcity the next, and then the 
city may be invested with effect." 

An interval of peace, aided by the quick vege- 
tation of a prolific soil and happy climate, had 



526 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

restored the vega to all its luxuriance and beauty ; 
the green pastures on the borders of the Xenil 
were covered with flocks and herds ; the bloom- 
ing orchards gave promise of abundant fruit, and 
the open plain was waving with ripening corn. 
The time was at hand to put in the sickle and 
reap the golden harvest, when suddenly a torrent 
of war came sweeping down from the mountains ; 
and Ferdinand, with an army of five thousand 
horse and twenty thousand foot, appeared before 
the walls of Granada. He had left the queen and 
princess at the fortress of Moclin, and came at- 
tended by the duke of Medina Sidonia, the mar- 
ques of Cadiz, the marques de Villena, the counts 
of Urena and Cabra, Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and 
other renowned cavaliers. On this occasion, he 
for the first time led his son prince Juan into the 
field, and bestowed upon him the dignity of knight- 
hood. As if to stimulate him to grand achieve- 
ments, the ceremony took place on the banks of 
the grand canal, almost beneath the embattled 
walls of that warlike city, the object of such dar- 
ing enterprises, and in the midst of that famous 
vega, the field of so many chivalrous exploits. 
Above them shone resplendent the red towers of 
the Alhambra, rising from amidst delicious groves, 
with the standard of Mahomet waving defiance to 
the Christian arms. 

The duke of Medina Sidonia, and Roderigo 
Ponce de Leon, marques of Cadiz, were spon- 
sors ; and all the chivalry of the camp was as- 
sembled on the occasion. The prince, after he was 
knighted, bestowed the same honor on several 



SKIRMISHING BEFORE GRANADA 527 

youthful cavaliers of high rank, just entering, like 
himself, on the career of arms. 

Ferdinand did not loiter, in carrying his des- 
olating plans into execution. He detached par- 
ties in every direction, to lay waste the country ; 
villages were sacked, burnt, and destroyed, and 
the lovely vega was once more laid waste with 
fire and sword. The ravage was carried so close 
to Granada, that the city was wrapped in the 
smoke of its gardens and hamlets. The dismal 
cloud rolled up the hill and hung about the tow- 
ers of the Alhambra, where the unfortunate Boab- 
dil still remained shut up from the indignation of 
his subjects. The hapless monarch smote his 
breast, as he looked down from his mountain pal- 
ace on the desolation effected by his late ally. 
He dared not even show himself in arms among 
the populace, for they cursed him as the cause 
of the miseries once more brought to their doors. 

The Moors, however, did not suffer the Chris- 
tians to carry on their ravages unmolested as in 
former years. Muza incited them to incessant 
sallies. He divided his cavalry into small squad- 
rons, each led by a daring commander. They 
were taught to hover round the Christian camp ; 
to harass it from various and opposite quarters, 
cutting off convoys and straggling detachments ; to 
waylay the army in its ravaging expeditions, lurk- 
ing among rocks and passes of the mountains, or 
in hollows and thickets of the plain, and prac- 
ticing a thousand stratagems and surprises. 

The Christian army had one day spread itself 
out rather unguardedly, in its foraging about the 



528 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

vega. As the troops commanded by the marques 
of Villena approached the skirts of the mountains, 
they beheld a number of Moorish peasants has- 
tily driving a herd of cattle into a narrow glen. 
The soldiers, eager for booty, pressed in pursuit 
of them. Scarcely had they entered the glen, 
when shouts arose from every side, and they were 
furiously attacked by an ambuscade of horse and 
foot. Some of the Christians took to flight ; 
others stood their ground, and fought valiantly. 
The Moors had the vantage-ground ; some show- 
ered darts and arrows from the cliffs of the 
rocks, others fought hand to hand on the plain; 
while their cavalry carried havoc and confusion 
into the midst of the Christian forces. 

The marques de Villena, with his brother Don 
Alonzo de Pacheco, at the first onset of the Moors, 
spurred into the hottest of the fight. They had 
scarce entered, when Don Alonzo was struck life- 
less from his horse, before the eyes of his brother, 
Estevan Luzon, a gallant captain, fell fighting 
bravely by the side of the marques, who remained, 
with his chamberlain Soler and a handful of 
knights, surrounded by the enemy. Several cav- 
aliers from other parts of the army hastened to 
their assistance, when King Ferdinand, seeing that 
the Moors had the vantage-ground, and that 
the Christians were suffering severely, gave a sig- 
nal for retreat. The marques obeyed slowly and 
reluctantly, for his heart was full of grief and rage 
at the death of his brother. As he was retiring, 
he beheld his faithful chamberlain Soler defend- 
ing himself valiantly against six Moors. The 



MUZA'S AMBUSCADES. 529 

marques turned, and rushed to his rescue ; he killed 
two of the enemy with his own hand, and put 
the rest to flight. One of the Moors, however, 
in retreating, rose in his stirrups, and hurling his 
lance at the marques, wounded him in the right 
arm and crippled him for life. 1 

Such was one of the many ambuscadoes con- 
certed by Muza ; nor did he hesitate at times to 
present a bold front to the Christian forces, and 
defy them in the open field. Ferdinand soon per- 
ceived, however, that the Moors seldom provoked 
a battle without having the advantage of the 
ground ; and that though the Christians generally 
appeared to have the victory, they suffered the 
greatest loss ; for retreating was a part of the 
Moorish system, by which they would draw their 
pursuers into confusion, and then turn upon them 
with a more violent and fatal attack. He com- 
manded his captains, therefore, to decline all chal- 
lenges to skirmish, and pursue a secure system of 
destruction, ravaging the country, and doing ail 
possible injury to the enemy, with slight risk to 
themselves. 

1 In consequence of this wound, the marques was ever after 
obliged to write his signature with his left hand, though ca- 
pable of managing his lance with his right. The queen one 
day demanded of him, why he had adventured his life for 
that of a domestic? " Does not your majesty think," replied 
he, "that I ought to risk one life for him who would have ad- 
ventured three for me had he possessed them? " The queen 
was charmed with the magnanimity of the reply, and often 
quoted the marques as setting an heroic example to the chiv- 
alry of the age. Mariana, lib. 25, cap. 15. 
34 




CHAPTER LXXXV. 

The Fate of the Castle of Roma. 

BOUT two leagues from Granada, on 
an eminence commanding an extensive 
view of the vega, stood the strong Moor- 
ish castle of Roma. Hither the neighboring peas- 
antry drove their flocks and herds, and hurried 
with their most precious effects, on the irruption 
of a Christian force ; and any foraging or skir- 
mishing party from Granada, on being intercepted 
in their return, threw themselves into Roma, 
manned its embattled towers, and set the enemy 
at defiance. The garrison were Accustomed to 
have parties of Moors clattering up to their gates, 
so hotly pursued that there was barely time 
to throw open the portal, receive them within, and 
shut out their pursuers ; while the Christian cav- 
aliers had many a time reined up their panting 
steeds, at the very entrance of the barbacan, and 
retired, cursing the strong walls of Roma, that 
robbed them of their prey. 

The late ravages of Ferdinand, and the contin- 
ual skirmishings in the vega. had roused the vig- 
ilance of the castle. One morning early, as the 
sentinels kept watch upon the battlements, they 
beheld a cloud of dust advancing rapidly from a 



FATE OF ROMA. 531 

distance : turbans and Moorish weapons soon 
caught their eyes : and as the whole approached, 
they descried a drove of cattle, urged on in great 
haste, and convoyed by one hundred and fifty 
Moors, who led with them two Christian captives 
in chains. 

When the cavalgada arrived near the castle, a 
Moorish cavalier, of noble and commanding mien 
and splendid attire, rode up to the foot of the 
tower, and entreated admittance. He stated that 
they were returning with rich booty from a foray 
into the lands of the Christians, but that the en- 
emy was on their traces, and they feared to be 
overtaken before they could reach Granada. 
The sentinels descended in all haste, and Hung 
open the gates. The long cavalgada defiled into 
the courts of the castle, which were soon filled 
with bleating and lowing flocks and herds, with 
neighing and stamping steeds, and with fierce- 
looking Moors from the mountains. The cava- 
lier who had asked admission was the chief of 
the party ; he was somewhat advanced in life, of 
a lofty and gallant bearing, and had with him a 
son, a young man of great spirit and fire. Close 
by them followed the two Christian captives, with 
looks cast down and disconsolate. 

The soldiers of the garrison had roused them- 
selves from their sleep, and were busily occupied 
attending to the cattle which crowded the courts : 
while the foraging party distributed themselves 
about the castle, to seek refreshment or repose. 
Suddenly a shout arose, that was echoed from 
courtyard, and hall, and battlement. The garri- 



532 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

son, astonished and bewildered, would have rushed 
to their arms, but found themselves, almost before 
they could make resistance, completely in the 
power of an enemy. 

The pretended foraging party consisted of Mu- 
dexares, or Moors tributary to the Christians ; 
and the commanders were the prince Cid Hiaya, 
and his son Alnayer. They had hastened from 
the mountains with this small force, to aid the 
Catholic sovereigns during the summer's cam- 
paign ; and had concerted to surprise this impor- 
tant castle, and present it to king Ferdinand, as 
a gage of their faith, and the first fruits of their 
devotion. 

The politic monarch overwhelmed his new con- 
verts and allies with favors and distinctions, in 
return for this important acquisition ; but he took 
care to dispatch a strong force of veteran and 
genuine Christian troops, to man the fortress. 

As to the Moors who had composed the garri- 
son, Cid Hiaya remembered that they were his 
countrymen, and could not prevail upon himself 
to deliver them into Christian bondage. He set 
them at liberty, and permitted them to repair to 
Granada ; " a proof " says the pious Agapida, 
" that his conversion was not entirely consum- 
mated, but that there were still some lingerings of 
the infidel in his heart." His lenity was far from 
procuring him indulgence in the opinions of his 
countrymen ; on the contrary, the inhabitants of 
Granada, when they learnt from the liberated 
garrison the stratagem by which Roma had been 



EL ZAGAL JOINS THE CHRISTIANS 533 

captured, cursed Cid Hiaya for a traitor ; and 
the garrison joined in the malediction. 1 

But the indignation of the people of Granada 
was destined to be roused to tenfold violence. 
The old warrior Muley Abdallah el Zagal had 
retired to his little mountain territory, and for a 
short time endeavored to console himself with his 
petty title of king of Andarax. He soon grew 
impatient, however, of the quiet and inaction of 
his mimic kingdom. His fierce spirit was exas- 
perated by being shut up within such narrow 
limits, and his hatred rose to downright fury 
against Boabdil, whom he considered as the cause 
of his downfall. When tidings were brought him 
that king Ferdinand was laying waste the vega, 
he took a sudden resolution. Assembling the 
whole disposable force of his kingdom, which 
amounted but to two hundred men, he descended 
from the Alpuxarras and sought the Christian 
camp, content to serve as a vassal the enemy of 
his faith and his nation, so that he might see Gra- 
nada wrested from the sway of his nephew. 

In his blind passion, the old wrathful monarch 
injured his cause, and strengthened the cause of 
his adversary. The Moors of Granada had been 
clamorous in his praise, extolling him as a victim 
to his patriotism, and had refused to believe all 
reports of his treaty with the Christians ; but 
when they beheld, from the walls of the city, his 
banner mingling with the banners of the unbe- 
lievers, and arrayed against his late people, and 

1 Pulgar, Cron. pt. 3, cap. 130. Cura de los Palacios, 
cap 90. 



534 CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 

the capital he had commanded, they broke forth 
into revilings, and heaped curses upon his name. 
Their next emotion, of course, was in favor of 
Boabdil. They gathered under the walls of the 
Alhambra, and hailed him as their only hope, as 
the sole dependence of the country. Boabdil 
could scarcely believe his senses, when he heard 
his name mingled with praises and greeted with 
acclamations. Encouraged by this unexpected 
gleam of popularity, he ventured forth from his 
retreat, and was received with rapture. All his 
past errors were attributed to the hardships of 
his fortune, and the usurpation of his tyrant 
uncle ; and whatever breath the populace could 
spare from uttering curses on El Zagal, was ex- 
pended in shouts in honor of El Chico. 





CHAPTER LXXXVI. 

How Boabdil el Chico took the Field; and his Expedition 
against Alhendin. 




|OR thirty days had the vega been over- 
run by the Christian forces ; and that 
vast plain, late so luxuriant and beauti-,, 
ful, was one wide scene of desolation. The de- 
stroying army, having accomplished its task, passed 
over the bridge of Pinos and wound up into the 
mountains, on the way to Cordova, bearing away 
the spoils of towns and villages, and driving off 
flocks and herds in long dusty columns. The 
sound of the last Christian trumpet died away 
along the side of the mountain of Elvira, and not 
a hostile squadron was seen glistening on the 
mournful fields of the vega. 

The eyes of Boabdil el Chico were at length 
opened to the real policy of king Ferdinand, and 
he saw that he had no longer anything to de- 
pend upon but the valor of his arm. No time 
was to be lost in hastening to counteract the effect 
of the late Christian ravage, and in opening the 
channel for distant supplies to Granada. 

Scarcely had the retiring squadrons of Ferdi- 
nand disappeared among the mountains, when 
Boabdil buckled on his armor, sallied forth from 



536 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the Alhambra, and prepared to take the field. 
When the populace beheld him actually in arms 
against his late ally, both parties thronged with 
zeal to his standard. The hardy inhabitants also 
of the Sierra Nevada, or chain of snow-capped 
mountains which rise above Granada, descended 
from their heights, and hastened into the city 
gates, to proffer their devotion to their youthful 
king. The great square of the Vivarrambla shone 
with legions of cavalry, decked with the colors 
and devices of the most ancient Moorish families, 
and marshaled forth by the patriot Muza to fol- 
low the king to battle. 

It was on the 15th of June, that Boabdil once 
more issued forth from the gates of Granada on 
martial enterprise. A few leagues from the city, 
within full view of it, and at the entrance of the 
Alpuxarra mountains, stood the powerful castle 
of Alhendin. It was built on an eminence, ris- 
ing from the midst of a small town, and com- 
manding a great part of the vega and the main 
road to the rich valleys of the Alpuxarras. The 
castle was commanded by a valiant Christian cav- 
alier named Men do de Quexada, and garrisoned 
by two hundred and fifty men, all seasoned and 
experienced w r arriors. It was a continual thorn 
in the side of Granada : the laborers of the vega 
were swept off from their fields, by its hardy sol- 
diers ; convoys were cut off in the passes of the 
mountains ; and as the garrison commanded a full 
view of the gates of the city, no band of mer- 
chants could venture forth on their needful jour- 
neys, without being swooped up by the war-hawks 
of Alhendin. 



BOABDIL ATTACKS ALHENDJN. 537 

It was against this important fortress that 
Boabdil first led his troops, and for six days and 
nights it was closely besieged. The alcayde and 
his veteran garrison defended themselves valiantly, 
but were exhausted by fatigue and constant watch- 
fulness ; for the Moors, being continually relieved 
by fresh troops from Granada, kept up an un- 
remitted and vigorous attack. Twice the barba- 
can was forced, and twice the assailants were 
driven forth headlong with excessive loss. The 
garrison, however, was diminished in number by 
the killed and wounded ; there were no longer 
soldiers sufficient to man the walls and gateway ; 
and the brave alcayde was compelled to retire, 
with his surviving force, to the keep of the castle, 
in which he continued to make a desperate resis- 
tance. 

The Moors now approached the foot of the 
tower, under shelter of wooden screens covered 
with wet hides, to ward off missiles and combus- 
tibles. They went to work vigorously to under- 
mine the tower, placing props of wood under the 
foundations, to be afterwards set on fire, so as to 
give the besiegers time to escape before the edi- 
fice should fall. Some of the Moors plied their 
cross-bows and arquebuses to defend the work- 
men, and drive the Christians from the walls ; 
while the latter showered down stones, and darts, 
and melted pitch, and flaming combustibles, on 
the miners. 

The brave Mendo de Quexada had cast many 
an anxious eye across the vega, in hopes of see- 
ing some Christian force hastening to his assis- 



538 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

tance. Not a gleam of spear or helm was to be 
descried, for no one had dreamt of this sudden ir- 
ruption of the Moors. The alcayde beheld his 
bravest men dead or wounded around him, while 
the "remainder were sinking with watchfulness 
and fatigue. In defiance of all opposition, the 
Moors had accomplished their mine ; the fire was 
brought before the walls, that was to be applied 
to the stanchions, in case the garrison persisted 
in defense. In a little while, the tower would 
crumble beneath him, and be rent and hurled a 
ruin to the plain. At the very last moment, the 
brave alcayde made the signal of surrender. He 
marched forth with the remnant of his veteran 
garrison, who were all made prisoners. Boabdil 
immediately ordered the walls of the fortress to 
be razed, and fire to be applied to the stanchions, 
that the place might never again become a strong- 
hold to the Christians, and a scourge to Granada. 
The alcayde and his fellow-captives were led in 
dejected convoy across the vega, when they heard 
a tremendous crash behind them. They turned 
to look upon tfieir late fortress, but beheld nothing 
but a heap of tumbling ruins, and a vast column 
of smoke and dust, where once had stood the 
lofty tower of Alhendin. 




CHAPTER LXXXVII. 



Exploit of the Count de Tendilla. 




OABDIL EL CHICO followed up his 
success, by capturing the two fortresses 
of Marchena and Albolodny, belonging 
to Cid Hiaya ; he also sent his alfaquis in every 
direction, to proclaim a holy war, and to summon 
all true Moslems of town or castle, mountain or 
valley, to saddle steed and buckle on armor, and 
hasten to the standard of the faith. The tidings 
spread far and wide, that Boabdil el Chico was 
once more in the field, and was victorous. The 
Moors of various places, dazzled by this gleam 
of success, hastened to throw off their sworn al- 
legiance to the Castilian crown, and to elevate 
the standard of Boabdil ; and the youthful mon- 
arch flattered himself that the whole kingdom 
was on the point of returning to its allegiance. 

The fiery cavaliers of Granada, eager to renew 
those forays into the Christian lands, in which 
they had formerly delighted, concerted an irrup- 
tion to the north, into the territory of Jaen, to 
harass the country about Quezada. They had 
heard of a rich convoy of merchants and wealthy 
travellers, on the way to the city of Baza ; and 
anticipated a glorious conclusion to their foray 
:'n capturing this convoy. 



540 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Assembling a number of horsemen, lightly 
armed and fleetly mounted, and one hundred 
foot-soldiers, they issued forth by night from 
Granada, made their way in silence through the 
defiles of the mountains, crossed the frontier 
without opposition, and suddenly appeared, as if 
fallen from the clouds, in the very heart of the 
Christian country. 

The mountainous frontier which separates Gra- 
nada from Jaen, was at this time under the com- 
mand of the count de Tendilla, the same veteran 
who had distinguished himself by his vigilance 
and sagacity wh§n commanding the fortress of Al- 
hama. He held his head-quarters at the city of 
Alcala la Real, in its impregnable fortress, perched 
high among the mountains, about six leagues from 
Granada, and dominating all the frontier. From 
this cloud-capt hold he kept an eagle eye upon 
Granada, and had his scouts and spies in all di- 
rections, so that a crow could not fly over the 
border without his knowledge. His fortress was 
a place of refuge for the Christian captives who 
escaped by night from the Moorish dungeons of 
Granada. Often, however, they missed their way 
in the defiles of the mountains, and, wandering 
about bewildered, either repaired by mistake to 
some Moorish town, or were discovered and re- 
taken at daylight by the enemy. To prevent 
these accidents the count had a tower built at his 
own expense, on the top of one of the heights near 
Alcala, which commanded a view of the vega and 
surrounding country. Here he kept a light blaz- 
ing throughout the night, as a beacon for all Chris- 
tian fugitives, to guide them to a place of safety. 



TENDILLA'S EXPLOIT. 541 

The count was aroused one night from his re- 
pose, by shouts and cries which came up from 
the town and approached the castle walls. " To 
arms ! to arms ! the Moor is over the border ! " 
was the cry. A Christian soldier, pale and ema- 
ciated, who still bore traces of Moorish chains, 
was brought, before the count. He had been 
taken as guide by the Moorish cavaliers who had 
sallied from Granada, but had escaped from them 
among the mountains, and, after much wander- 
ing, had found his way to Alcala by the signal- 
fire. 

Notwithstanding the bustle and agitation of the 
moment, the count de Tendilla listened calmly and 
attentively, to the account of the fugitive, and 
questioned him minutely as to the time of depar- 
ture of the Moors, and the rapidity and direction 
of their march. He saw that it was too late to 
prevent their incursion and ravage ; but he deter- 
mined to await them, and give them a warm re- 
ception on their return. His soldiers were always 
on the alert, and ready to take the field at a mo- 
ment's warning. Choosing one hundred and fifty 
lances, hardy and valiant men, well disciplined and 
well seasoned, as indeed were all his troops, he 
issued forth quietly before break of day, and, de- 
scending the defiles of the mountains, stationed 
his little force in ambush, in a deep barranca, or 
dry channel of a torrent, near Barzina, but three 
leagues from Granada, on the road by which the 
marauders would have to return. In the mean 
time, he sent out scouts, to post themselves upon 
different heights, and look out for the approach 
of the enemy. 



542 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

All day they remained concealed in the ravine, 
and for a great part of the following night ; not 
a Moor, however, was to be seen, excepting now 
and then a peasant returning from his labor, or 
a solitary muleteer hastening towards Granada. 
The* cavaliers of the count began to grow restless 
and impatient ; fearing that the enemy might 
have taken some other route, or might have re- 
ceived intelligence of their ambuscade. They 
urged the count to abandon the enterprise, and 
return to Alcala. " We are here," said they, " al- 
most at the gates of the Moorish capital, our 
movements may have been descried, and, before 
we are aware, Granada may pour forth its legions 
of swift cavalry, and crush us with an overwhelm- 
ing force." The count, however, persisted in re- 
maining until his scouts should come in. About 
two hours before daybreak, there were signal-fires 
on certain Moorish watch-towers of the mountains. 
"While they were regarding these with anxiety, the 
scouts came hurrying into the ravine : " The Moors 
are approaching," said they ; " we have reconnoi- 
tered them near at hand. They are between one 
and two hundred strong, but encumbered with 
many prisoners and much booty." The Christian 
cavaliers laid their ears to the ground, and heard 
the distant tramp of horses and the tread of foot- 
soldiers. They mounted their horses, braced their 
shields, couched their lances, and drew near to 
the entrance of the ravine where it opened upon 
the road. 

The Moors had succeeded in waylaying and 
surprising the Christian convoy, on its way to 



TENDILLAS EXPLOIT. 543 

Baza. They had captured a great number of 
prisoners, male and female, with great store of 
gold and jewels, and sumptcr mules laden with 
rich merchandise. With these they had made a 
forced march over the dangerous parts of the 
mountains ; but now, finding themselves so near 
to Granada, fancied themselves in perfect security. 
They loitered along the road, therefore, irregu- 
larly and slowly, some singing, others laughing 
and exulting at having eluded the boasted vigi- 
lance of the count de Tendilla ; while ever and 
anon was heard the plaint of some female captive 
bewailing the jeopardy of her honor, or the heavy 
sighing of the merchant at beholding his property 
in the grasp of ruthless spoilers. 

The count waited until some of the escort had 
passed the ravine, then, giving the signal for as- 
sault, his cavaliers set up great shouts and cries, 
and charged into the centre of the foe. The ob- 
scurity of the place and the hour added to the 
terrors of the surprise. The Moors were thrown 
into confusion ; some rallied, fought desperately, 
and fell covered with wounds. Thirty-six were 
killed, and fifty -five were made prisoners ; the rest, 
under cover of the darkness, made their escape 
to the rocks and defiles of the mountains. 

The good count unbound the prisoners, glad- 
dening the hearts of the merchants by restor- 
ing to them their merchandise. To the female 
captives also he restored the jewels of which 
they had been despoiled, excepting such as had 
been lost beyond recovery. Forty-five saddle 
horses, of the choice Barbary breed, remained as 



544 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

captured spoils of the Moors, together with costly 
armor, and booty of various kinds. Having col- 
lected everything in haste, and arranged his cav- 
algada, the count urged his way with all speed 
for Alcala la Real, lest he should be pursued and 
overtaken by the Moors of Granada. As he 
wound up the steep ascent to his mountain city, 
the inhabitants poured forth to meet him with 
shouts of joy. His triumph was doubly enhanced 
by being received at the gates of the city by his 
wife, the daughter of the marques of Villena, a 
lady of distinguished merit, whom he had not 
seen for two years, during which he had been sep- 
arated from his home by the arduous duties of 
these iron wars. 

We have yet another act to relate of this good 
count de Tendilla, who was in truth a mirror of 
knightly virtue. One day, a Christian soldier, 
just escaped from captivity in Granada, brought 
word to the count, that an illustrious damsel 
named Fatima, niece of the alcayde Aben Com- 
ixa, was to leave the city on a certain day, es- 
corted by a numerous party of relatives and 
friends of distinguished rank, on a journey to 
Aimunecar, there to embark for the African coast, 
to celebrate her nuptials with the alcayde of 
Tetuan. This was too brilliant a prize to be neg- 
lected. The count accordingly sallied forth with 
a light company of cavalry, and descending the 
defiles of the mountains, stationed himself behind 
the rocky sierra of Elvira, not far from the event- 
ful bridge of Pinos, within a few short miles of 
Granada. Hence he detached Alonzo de Car- 



GALLANT ACT OF TENDILLA. 545 

denas Ulloa, with fifty light horsemen, to post him- 
self in ambush, by the road the bridal party had 
to travel. After a time, the latter came in sight, 
proving less numerous than had been expected ; 
for the damsel was escorted merely by four armed 
domestics, and accompanied by a few relatives 
and two female attendants. The whole party 
was surrounded and captured almost without re- 
sistance, and carried off to the count at the bridge 
of Pinos. The good count conveyed his beauti- 
ful captive to his stronghold at Alcala, where he 
treated her and her companions with all the deli- 
cacy and respect due to their rank and to his own 
character as a courteous cavalier. 

The tidings of the capture of his niece gave 
poignant affliction to the vizier Aben Comixa. 
His royal master Boabdil, of whom he was the 
prime favorite and confidential adviser, sympa- 
thized in his distress. With his own hand he 
wrote a letter to the count, offering in exchange 
for the fair Fatima one hundred Christian cap- 
tives, to be chosen from those detained in Gra- 
nada. This royal letter was sent by Don Fran- 
cisco de Zuniga, an Aragonese cavalier, whom 
Aben Comixa held in captivity, and who was set 
at liberty for the purpose. 

On receiving the letter of Boabdil, the count 
de Tendilla at once gave freedom to the Moorish 
maid, making her a magnificent present of jewels, 
and sending her and her companions under hon- 
orable escort to the very gates of Granada. 

Boabdil, exceeding his promises, immediately 
set free twenty captive priests, one hundred and 
35 



546 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

thirty Castilian and Aragonian cavaliers, and a 
number of peasant women. His favorite and 
vizier, Aben Comixa, was so rejoiced at the liber- 
ation of his niece, and so struck with the chival- 
rous conduct of her captor, that he maintained 
from that day a constant and amicable corre- 
spondence with the count de Tendilla ; and be- 
came, in the hands of the latter, one of the most 
efficacious agents in bringing the war of Granada 
to a triumphant close. 1 

1 This interesting anecdote of the count de Tendilla, which 
is a key to the subsequent conduct of the vizier Aben Com- 
ixa, and had a singular influence on the fortunes of Boabdil 
and his kingdom, is originally given in a manuscript history 
of the counts of Tendilla, written about the middle of the six- 
teenth century, by Gabriel Rodriguez de Ardila, a Granadine 
clergyman. It has been brought to light recently by the re- 
searches of Alcantara for his History of Granada (vol. 4, cap. 
18). 








CHAPTER LXXXVIII. 




Expedition of Boabdil ei Chico against Salobrena. — Ex- 
ploit of Hernan Perez del Pulgar. 

ING BOABDIL found that bis dimin- 
ished territory was too closely dominated 
by Christian fortresses like Alcala la 
Real, and too strictly watched by vigilant alcaydes 
like the count of Tendilla, to be able to maintain it- 
self by internal resources. His foraging expedi- 
tions were liable to be intercepted and defeated, 
while the ravage of the vega had swept off every- 
thing on which the city depended for future sus- 
tenance. He felt the want of a seaport, through 
which, as formerly, he might keep open a com- 
munication with Africa and obtain reinforcements 
and supplies from beyond the sea. All the ports 
and harbors were in the hands of the Christians, 
and Granada and its remnant of dependent terri- 
tory were completely landlocked. 

In this emergency, the attention of Boabdil was 
called by circumstances to the seaport of Salo- 
brena. This redoubtable town has already been 
mentioned in this chronicle, as a place deemed 
impregnable by the Moors ; insomuch, that their 
kings were accustomed, in time of peril, to keep 
their treasures in its citadel. It was situated on 



548 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

a high rocky hill, dividing one of those rich little 
vegas or plains which lie open to the Mediter- 
ranean, but run like deep green bays into the 
stern bosoms of the mountains. The vega was 
covered with beautiful vegetation, with rice and 
cotton, with groves of oranges, citrons, figs, and 
mulberries, and with gardens inclosed by hedges 
of reeds, of aloes and the Indian fi£. Running: 
streams of cool water from the springs and snows 
of the Sierra Nevada, kept this delightful valley 
continually fresh and verdant ; while it was al- 
most locked up by mountain barriers, and lofty 
promontories stretching far into the sea. 

Through the centre of this rich vega, the rock 
of Salobreiia reared its rugged back, nearly divid- 
ing the plain, and advancing to the margin of the 
sea, with just a strip of sandy beach at its foot, 
laved by the blue waves of the Mediterranean. 

The town covered the ridge and sides of the 
rocky hill, and was fortified by strong walls and 
towers ; while on the highest and most precipitate 
part stood the citadel, a huge castle that seemed 
to form a part of the living rock; the massive 
ruins of which, at the present day, attract the 
gaze of the traveller, as he winds his way far be- 
low, along the road through the vega. 

This important fortress had been intrusted to 
the command of Don Francisco Ramirez de 
Madrid, captain-general of the artillery, and the 
most scientific of all the Spanish leaders. That 
experienced veteran, however, was with the king 
at Cordova, having left a valiant cavalier as al- 
cayde of the place. 



SURPRISE OF SALOBRENA. 549 

Boabdil had full information of the state of the 
garrison and the absence of its commander. Put- 
ting himself at the head of a powerful force, 
therefore, he departed from Granada, and made a 
rapid march through the mountains ; hoping to 
sieze upon Salobrena before king Ferdinand could 
come to its assistance. 

The inhabitants of Salobrena were Mudex- 
ares, or Moors who had sworn allegiance to the 
Christians. Still, when they heard the sound of 
the Moorish drums and trumpets, and beheld 
the squadrons of their countrymen advancing 
across the vega, their hearts yearned towards the 
standard of their nation and their faith. A 
tumult arose in the place ; the populace shouted 
the name of Boabdil el Chico, and, throwing open 
the gates, admitted him within the walls. 

The Christian garrison was too lew in number 
to contend for the possession of the town : they 
retreated to the citadel, and shut themselves 
within its massive walls, which were considered 
impregnable. Here they maintained a desperate 
defense, hoping: to hold out until succor should 
arrive from the neighboring fortresses. 

The tidings that Salobrena was invested by the 
Moorish king, spread along the sea coast, and 
filled the Christians with alarm. Don Francisco 
Enriquez, uncle of the king, commanded the city 
of Velez Malaga, about twelve leagues distant, 
but separated by ranges of those vast rocky 
mountains which are piled along the Mediter- 
ranean, and tower in steep promontories and preci- 
pices above its waves. 



550 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Don Francisco summoned the alcaydes of his 
district to hasten with him to the relief of this 
important fortress. A number of cavaliers and 
their retainers answered to his call, among whom 
was Hernan Perez del Pulgar, surnamed " El de 
las Hazanas " (he of the exploits) — the same 
who had signalized himself in a foray, by eleva- 
ting a handkerchief on a lance for a banner, and 
leading on his disheartened comrades to victory. 
As soon as Don Francisco beheld a little band 
collected round him, he set out with all speed for 
Salobreiia. The march was rugged and severe, 
climbing and descending immense mountains, and 
sometimes winding along the edge of giddy pre- 
cipices, with the surges of the sea raging far below. 
When Don Francisco arrived with his followers at 
the lofty promontory that stretches along one side 
of the little vega of Salobreiia, he looked down 
with sorrow and anxiety upon a Moorish army of 
great force, encamped at the foot of the fortress, 
while Moorish banners, on various parts of the 
walls, proved that the town was already in posses- 
sion of the infidels. A solitary Christian stan- 
dard alone floated on the top of the castle-keep, 
showing that the brave garrison were hemmed up 
in their rock-built citadel. They were in fact re- 
duced to great extremity, through want of water 
and provisions. 

Don Francisco found it impossible, with his 
small force, to make any impression on the camp 
of the Moors, or to get to the relief of the castle. 
He stationed his little band upon a rocky height 
near the sea, where they were safe from the as- 



EXPLOIT OF EERNAN DEL PULGAR. 651 

saults of the enemy. The sight of his friendly 
banner waving in their neighborhood cheered the 
heart of the garrison, and gave them assurance of 
speedy succor from the king ; while the hostile 
menaces of Don Francisco, served to check the 
attacks of the Moors upon the citadel. 

In the mean time, Hernan Perez del Pulgar, 
who always burned to distinguish himself by bold 
and striking exploits, had discovered in the course 
of his prowlings, a postern gate of the castle open- 
ing upon the steep part of the rocky hill looking 
towards the mountains. The thought occurred 
to him, that by a bold dash at a favorable moment, 
this postern might be attained, and succor thrown 
into the castle. He pointed the place out to his 
comrades. " Who will follow my banner," said 
he, " and make a dash for yonder postern ? " A 
bold proposition in time of warfare never wants 
for bold spirits to accept it. Seventy resolute 
men stepped forward to second him. Pulgar chose 
the early daybreak for his enterprise, when the 
Moors, just aroused from sleep, were changing 
guard, and making the various arrangements of 
the morning. Favored by these movements, and 
the drowsiness of the hour, Pulgar approached 
the Moorish line silently and steadily, most of his 
followers armed with cross-bows and espingardas. 
or muskets. Then suddenly making an onset, 
they broke through a weak part of the camp, be- 
fore the alarm had spread through the army, and 
succeeded in fighting their way up to the gate, 
which was eagerly thrown open to receive them. 

The garrison, roused to new spirit by this un- 



552 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

looked-for reinforcement, was enabled to make a 
more vigorous resistance. The Moors, however, 
who knew there was a great scarcity of water in 
the castle, exulted in the idea that this additional 
number of warriors would soon exhaust the cis- 
terns, and compel a surrender. Pulgar, hearing 
of this hope, caused a bucket of water to be low- 
ered from the battlements, and threw a silver cup 
in bravado to the Moors. 

The garrison, in truth, suffered intensely from 
thirst, while, to tantalize them in their sufferings, 
they beheld limpid streams winding in abundance 
through the green plain below them. They be- 
gan to fear that all succor would arrive too late, 
when one day they beheld a little squadron of 
vessels far at sea, but standing towards the shore. 
There was some doubt at first whether it might 
not be a hostile armament from Africa ; but as 
it approached they descried, to their great joy, 
the banner of Castile. 

It was a reinforcement, brought in all haste by 
the governor of the fortress, Don Francisco Ram- 
irez. The squadron anchored at a steep rocky 
island, which rises from the very margin of the 
smooth sandy beach, directly in front of the rock 
of Salobrena, and stretches out into the sea. On 
this island Ramirez landed his men, and was as 
strongly posted as if in a fortress. His force was 
too scanty to attempt a battle, but he assisted to 
harass and distract the besiegers. Whenever king 
Boabdil made an attack upon the fortress, his 
samp was assailed on one side by the troops of 
Ramirez, who landed from their island, and on 



RETREAT OF BOABDIL. 553 

another by those of Francisco Enriquez, who 
swept down from their rock ; while Hernan del 
Pulgar kept up a brave defense, from every tower 
and battlement of the castle. 

The attention of the Moorish king was diverted, 
also, for a time, by an ineffectual attempt to re- 
lieve the little port of Adra, which had recently 
declared in his favor, but which had been recap- 
tured for the Christians by Cid Hiaya and his son 
Alnayar. Thus the unlucky Boabdil, bewildered 
on everv hand, lost all the advantage that he had 
gained by his rapid march from Granada. While 
he was yet besieging the obstinate citadel, tidings 
were brought him that Kiv/g Ferdinand was in full 
march, with a powerfU/. host, to its assistance. 
There was no time for further delay : he made a 
furious attack with aR his forces upon the castle, 
but was again repulsed by Pulgar and his coadju- 
tors ; when, abandoning the siege, in despair, he 
retreated with his army, lest King Ferdinand 
should get between him and his capital. On his 
way back to Granada, however, he in some sort 
consoled himself for his late disappointment, by 
overrunning a part of the territories and posses- 
sions lately assigned to his uncle El Zagal, and to 
Cid Hiaya. He defeated their alcaydes, destroyed 
several of their fortresses, burnt their villages, and, 
leaving the country behind him reeking and smok- 
ii g with his vengeance, returned with consider* 
able booty, to repose himself within the walls of 
the Alhambra. 1 

1 Pulgar, Cron. pt «J, cap. 131. Cur a de los Palacios^ cap 97 



CHAPTER LXXXIX. 

How King Ferdinand treated the People of Guadix, and 
how El Zagal finished his Regal Career. 




CARCELY had Boabdil ensconced him- 
self in his capital, when King Ferdinand, 
at the head of seven thousand horse and 
twenty thousand foot, again appeared in the vega. 
He had set out in all haste from Cordova, to the 
relief of Salobrena ; but, hearing on his march 
that the siege was raised, he turned to make a sec- 
ond ravage round the walls of devoted Granada. 
His present forage lasted fifteen days, in the course 
of which almost everything that had escaped his 
former desolating visit was destroyed, and scarce 
a green thing or a living animal was left on the 
face of the land. The Moors sallied frequently, 
and fought desperately, in defense of their fields : 
but the work of destruction was accomplished — 
and Granada, once the queen of gardens, was left 
surrounded by a desert. 

Ferdinand next hastened to crush a conspiracy 
in the cities of Guadix, Baza, and Almeria. 
These recently conquered places had entered into 
6ecret correspondence with Boabdil, inviting him 
to march to their gates, promising to rise upon 
the Christian garrisons, seize upon the citadels, 



THE HOUSELESS MOORS. 555 

and surrender them into his power. The mar- 
ques of Villena had received notice of the conspir- 
acy, and suddenly thrown himself, with a large 
force, into Guadix. Under pretense of a review 
of the inhabitants, he made them sally forth into 
the fields before the city. When the whole Moor- 
ish population capable of bearing arms was thus 
without the walls, he ordered the gates to be closed. 
He then permitted them to enter, two by two and 
three by three, and take forth their wives, children, 
and effects. The houseless Moors were fain to 
make themselves temporary hovels, in the gardens 
and orchards about the city ; they were clamor- 
ous in their complaints at being thus excluded 
from their homes, but were told they must wait 
with patience until the charges against them could 
be investigated, and the pleasure of the king be 
known. 1 

When Ferdinand arrived at Guadix, he found 
the unhappy Moors in their cabins among the or- 
chards. They complained bitterly of the deception 
practiced upon them, and implored permission to 
return into the city, and live peaceably in their 
dwellings, as had been promised them in their 
articles of capitulation. 

King Ferdinand listened graciously to their 
complaints. u My friends," said he in reply, " I 
have been informed that there has been a con- 
spiracy among you to kill my alcayde and garrison, 
and to take part with my enemy, the king of Gra- 
nada. I shall make a thorough investigation of 
this conspiracy. Those among you who shall be 
2 Zurita, cap. 85. Cura de los Palacio3, cap. 97. 



556 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

proved innocent shall be restored to their dwell- 
ings, but the guilty shall incur the penalty of their 
offenses. As I wish, however, to proceed with 
mercy as well as justice, I now give you your 
choice, either to depart at once without further 
question, going wherever you please, and taking 
with you your families and effects, under an as- 
surance of safety ; or to deliver up those who are 
guilty, not one of whom, I give you my royal 
word, shall escape punishment." 

When the people of Guadix heard these words, 
they communed among themselves ; and as most 
of them (says the worthy Agapida) were either 
culpable or feared to be considered so, they ac- 
cepted the alternative, and departed sorrowfully, 
they and their wives and their little ones. " Thus/' 
in the words of that excellent and contemporary 
historian, Andres Bernaldez, commonly called the 
curate of Los Palacios, — " thus did the king de- 
liver Guadix from the hands of the enemies of 
our holy faith, after seven hundred and seventy 
years that it had been in their possession, ever 
since the time of Roderick the Goth ; and this 
was one of the mysteries of our Lord, who would, 
not consent that the city should remain longer in 
the power of the Moors" — a pious and sage 
remark, which is quoted with peculiar approbation 
by the worthy Agapida. 

Kinsj Ferdinand offered similar alternatives to 
the Moors of Baza, Almeria, and other cities ac- 
cused of participation in this conspiracy ; who 
generally preferred to abandon their homes, rather 
than incur the risk of an investigation. Most of 



MISFORTUNES OF EL ZAGAL. 557 

them relinquished Spain, as a country where they 
could no longer live in security and independence, 
and departed with their families for Africa ; such 
as remained were suffered to live in villages and 
hamlets, and other un walled places. 1 

While Ferdinand was thus occupied at Guadix, 
dispensing justice and mercy, and receiving cities 
in exchange, the old monarch Muley Abdallah, 
surnamed El Zagal, appeared before him. He 
was hazard with care, and almost crazed with 
passion. He had found his little territory of 
Andarax, and his two thousand subjects, as dif- 
ficult to govern as had been the distracted king- 
dom of Granada. The charm, which had bound 
the Moors to him, was broken when he appeared 
in arms under the banner of Ferdinand. He had 
returned from his inglorious campaign with his 
petty army of two hundred men, followed by the 
execrations of the people of Granada, and the 
secret repining of those he had led into the field. 
No sooner had his subjects heard of the successes 
of Boabdil el Chico, than they had seized their 
arms, assembled tumultuously, declared for the 
young monarch, and threatened the life of El 
Zagal. 2 The unfortunate old king had with dif- 
ficulty evaded their fury ; and this last lesson 
seemed entirely to have cured him of his passion 
for sovereignty. He now entreated Ferdinand 
to purchase the towns and castles, and other pos- 
sessions which had been granted to him ; offering 
them at a low rate, and begging safe passage for 

1 Garibay, lib. 13, cap. 39. Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 132. 

2 Oura de fas Palacios, cap. 97. 



558 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

himself and his followers to Africa. King Ferdi- 
nand graciously complied with his wishes. He 
purchased of him three-and-twenty towns and 
villages in the valleys of Andarax and Alhaurin, 
for which he gave him five millions of maravedis. 
El Zagal relinquished his right to one half of the 
Salinas or salt-pits of Maleha, in favor of his 
brother-in-law, Cid Hiaya. Having thus disposed 
of his petty empire and possessions, he packed up 
all his treasure, of which he had a great amount, 
and, followed by many Moorish families, passed 
over to Africa. 1 

And here let us cast an eye beyond the present 
period of our chronicle, and trace the remaining 
career of El Zagal. His short and turbulent 
reign, and disastrous end, would afford a whole- 
some lesson to unprincipled ambition, were not all 
ambition of the kind fated to be blind to precept 
and example. When he arrived in Africa, instead 
of meeting with kindness and sympathy, he was 
seized and thrown into prison by the caliph of 
Fez, Benimerin, as though he had been his vassal. 
He was accused of being the cause of the dis- 
sensions and downfall of the kingdom of Granada ; 
and the accusation being proved to the satisfaction 
of the king of Fez, he condemned the unhappy 
El Zagal to perpetual darkness. A basin of glow- 
ing copper was passed before his eyes, which 
effectually destroyed his sight. His wealth, which 
had probably been the secret cause of these cruel 
measures, was confiscated and seized upon by his 
oppressor ; and El Zagal was thrust forth, blind, 
1 Conde, pt. 4, cap. 41. 



FATE OF EL ZAGAL. 559 

helpless, and destitute, upon the world. In this 
wretched condition, the late Moorish monarch 
groped his way through the regions of Tingitania, 
until he reached the city of Velez de la Gomera. 
The emir of Velez had formerly been his ally, 
and felt some movement of compassion at his pres- 
ent altered and abject state. He gave him food 
and raiment, and suffered him to remain un- 
molested in his dominions. Death, which so often 
hurries off the prosperous and happy from the 
midst of untasted pleasures, spares on the other 
hand, the miserable, to drain the last drop of his 
cup of bitterness. El Zagal dragged out a 
wretched existence of many years, in the city of 
Velez. He wandered about blind and disconsolate, 
an object of mingled scorn and pity, and bearing 
above his raiment a parchment on which was 
written in Arabic, " This is the unfortunate king 
of Andalusia." l 

1 Marmol de Rebelione Maur. lib. 1, cap. 16. Padraza, 
Hist. Granad. pt. 3, cap. 4. Suarez, Hist. Obisp. de Guaduc 5 
Baza, cap. 10. 



CHAPTER XC. 




Preparations of Granada for a Desperate Defense. 

OW is thy strength departed, O Gra- 
nada ! how is thy beauty withered and 
despoiled, city of groves and foun- 
tains ! The commerce that once thronged thy 
streets is at an end ; the merchant no longer has- 
tens to thy gates, with the luxuries of foreign 
lands. The cities which once paid thee tribute 
are wrested from thy sway ; the chivalry which 
filled thy Vivarrambla with sumptuous pageantry, 
have fallen in many battles. The Alhambra still 
rears its ruddy towers from the midst of groves, 
but melancholy reigns in its marble halls ; and 
the monarch looks down from his lofty balconies 
upon a naked waste, where once extended the 
blooming glories of the vega ! 

Such is the lament of the Moorish writers, 
over, the lamentable state of Granada, now a 
mere phantom of former greatness. The two 
ravages of the vega, following so closely upon 
each other, had swept off all the produce of the 
year ; and the husband jaan had no longer the 
heart to till the field, seeing the ripening harvest 
only brought the spoiler to his door. 

During the winter season, Ferdinand made 



PREPARATIONS OF FERDINANL. 561 

diligent preparations for the campaign, tlut was 
to decide the fate of Granada. As this war was 
waged purely for the promotion of the Christian 
faith, he thought it meet that its enemies should 
bear the expenses. He levied, therefore, a gen- 
eral contribution upon the Jews throughout his 
kingdom, by synagogues and districts : and 
obliged them to render in the proceeds, at the city 
of Seville. 1 

On the 11th of April, Ferdinand and Isabella 
departed for the Moorish frontier, with the solemn 
determination to lay close siege to Granada, and 
never quit its walls until they had planted the 
standard of the faith on the towers of the Alham- 
bra. Many of the nobles of the kingdom, partic- 
ularly those from parts remote from the scene 
of action, wearied by the toils of war, and fore- 
seeing that this would be a tedious siege, requir- 
ing patience and vigilance rather than hardy 
deeds of arms, contented themselves with send- 
ing their vassals, while they staid at home, to at- 
tend to their domains. Many cities furnished 
soldiers at their cost, and the king took the field 
with an army of forty thousand infantry and ten 
thousand horse. The principal captains who 
followed him in this campaign, were Roderigo 
Ponce de Leon, the marques of Cadiz, the mas- 
ter of Santiago, the marques of Villena, the 
counts of Tendilla, Cifuentes, Cabra, and Urena, 
and Don Alonzo de Aguilar. 

Queen Isabella, accompanied by her son, the 
prince Juan, and the princesses Juana, Maria, and 

1 Garibay, lib. 18, c. 39. 
36 



562 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

Cathalina, her daughters, proceeded to Alcala la 
Real, the mountain fortress and stronghold of the 
count de Tendilla. Here she remained, to forward 
supplies to the army, and to be ready to repair 
to the camp, whenever her presence might be re- 
quired. 

The army of Ferdinand poured into the vega, 
by various defiles of the mountains ; and, on the 
23d of April, the royal tent was pitched at a 
village called Los Ojos de Huescar, about a 
league and a half from Granada. At the ap- 
proach of this formidable force, the harassed in- 
habitants turned pale, and even many of the 
warriors trembled ; for they felt that the last des- 
perate struggle was at hand. 

Boabdil el Chico assembled his council in the 
Alhambra, from the windows of which they could 
behold the Christian squadrons glistening through 
clouds of dust, as they poured along the vega. 
The utmost confusion and consternation reigned 
in the council. Many of the members, terrified 
with the horrors impending over their families, 
advised Boabdil to throw himself upon the gener- 
osity of the Christian monarch : even several of 
the bravest suggested the possibility of obtaining 
honorable terms. 

The wazir of the city, Abul Casim Abdel 
Melic, was called upon to report the state of the 
public means for sustenance and defense. There 
were sufficient provisions, he said, for a few 
months' supply, independent of what might exist 
in the possession of merchants and other rich in- 
habitants. " But of what avail,'' said h«, "is a 



MUZA'S STURDY RESOLUTION 5G3 

supply for a few months, against the sieges of 
the Castilian monarch, which are interminab e ? " 

He produced, also, the lists of men capabK of 
bearing arms. "The number," said he, "is grtat; 
but what can be expected from mere citizen-Sv)l- 
diers ? They vaunt and menace, in time 0** 
safety ; none are so arrogant, when the enemy ic 
at a distance — but when the din of war thunders 
at the gates, they hide themselves in terror." 

When Muza heard these words, he rose with 
generous warmth : " What reason have we," 
said he, " to despair ? The blood of those illus- 
trious Moors, the conquerors of Spain, still flows 
in our veins. Let us be true to ourselves, and 
fortune will again be with us. We have a veteran 
force, both horse and foot, the flower of our chiv- 
alry, seasoned in war and scarred in a thousand 
battles. As to the multitude of our citizens, 
spoken of so slightly, why should we doubt their 
valor ? There are twenty thousand young men, 
in the fire of youth, whom I will engage, that in 
the defense of their homes they will rival the 
most valiant veterans. Do we want provisions? 
Our horses are fleet, and our horsemen daring in 
the foray. Let them scour and scourge the coun- 
try of those apostate Moslems who have sur- 
rendered to the Christians. Let them make in- 
roads into the lands of our enemies. We shall 
soon see them returning with cavalgadas to our 
gates ; and, to a soldier, there is no morsel so 
sweet as that wrested with hard fighting from 
the foe." 

Boabdil, though he wanted firm and durable 



5G4 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

courage, was readily excited to sudden emotions 
of bravery. He caught a glow of resolution 
from the noble ardor of Muza. " Do what is 
needful/' said he to his commanders ; " into your 
hands I confide the common safety. You are 
the protectors of the kingdom, and with the aid 
of Allah, will revenge the insults of our religion, 
the deaths of our friends and relations, and the 
sorrows and sufferings heaped upon our land." 1 

To every one was now assigned his separate 
duty. The wazir had charge of the arms and 
provisions, and the enrolling of the people. 
Muza was to command the cavalry, to defend 
the gates, and to take the lead in all sallies and 
skirmishings. Nairn Reduan, and Muhamed Aben 
Zayde, were his adjutants. Abdel Kerim Zegri, 
and the other captains, were to guard the walls ; 
and the alcaydes of the Alcazaba, and of the 
Red Towers, had command of the fortresses. 

Nothing now was heard but the din of arms, 
and the bustle of preparation. The Moorish 
spirit, quick to catch fire, was immediately in a 
flame ; and the populace, in the excitement of 
the moment, set at naught the power of the Chris- 
tians. Muza was in all parts of the city, infus- 
ing his own generous zeal into the bosoms of the 
soldiery. The young cavaliers rallied round him 
as their model ; the veteran warriors regarded 
him with a soldier's admiration ; the vulgar throng 
followed him with shouts, and the helpless part 
of the inhabitants, the old men and the women, 
hailed him with blessings as their protector. 
1 Conde. 



MUZAS PRACTICAL BRAVERY. 565 

On ihe first appearance of the Christian army 
the principal gates of the city had been closed, 
and secured with bars and bolts and heavy chains : 
Muza now ordered them to be thrown open ; " To 
me and my cavaliers," said he, " is intrusted the 
defense of the gates ; our bodies shall be their 
barriers." He stationed at each gate a strong 
guard, chosen from his bravest men. His horse- 
men were always completely-armed, and ready to 
mount at a moment's warning ; their steeds stood 
saddled and caparisoned in the stables, with lance 
and buckler beside them. On the least approach 
of the enemy, a squadron of horse gathered 
within the gate, ready to launch forth like the 
bolt from the thunder-cloud. Muza made no 
empty bravado nor haughty threat ; he was more 
terrible in deeds than in words, and executed dar- 
ing exploits, beyond even the vaunt of the vain- 
glorious. Such was the present champion of the 
Moors. Had they possessed many such warriors, 
or had Muza risen to power at an earlier period 
of the war, the fate of Granada might have been 
deferred, and the Moor for a long time have 
maintained his throne within the walk* of the 
Alhambra. 



Q32& 



CHAPTER XCL 

How King Ferdinand conducted the Siege cautiously ; and 
how Queen Isabella arrived at the Camp. 




HOUGH Granada was shorn of its glo- 
ries, and nearly cut off from all external 
aid, still its mighty castles and massive 
bulwarks seemed to set all attack at defiance. 
Being the last retreat of Moorish power, it had 
assembled within its walls the remnants of the ar- 
mies which had contended, step by step, with the 
invaders, in their gradual conquest of the land. 
All that remained of high-born and high-bred 
chivalry, was here ; all that was loyal and pa- 
triotic was roused to activity by the common 
danger ; and Granada, so long lulled into inaction 
by vain hopes of security, now assumed a formi- 
dable aspect in the hour of its despair. 

Ferdinand saw that any attempt to subdue the 
city by main force would be perilous and bloody. 
Cautious in his policy, and fond of conquests 
gained by art rather than valor, he resorted to 
the plan so successful with Baza, and determined to 
reduce the place by famine. For this purpose, his 
armies penetrated into the very heart of the Al- 
puxarras, and ravaged the valleys, and sacked and 
burnt the towns, upon which the city depended 



ARRIVAL OF ISABELLA. 567 

fo»" its supplies. Scouting parties, also, ranged 
i he mountains behind Granada, and captured 
every casual convoy of provisions. The Moors 
became more daring, as their sifuation became 
more hopeless. Never had Ferdinand experienced 
such vigorous sallies and assaults. Muza, at the 
head of his cavalry, harassed the borders of the 
camp, and even penetrated into the interior, 
making sudden spoil and ravage, and leaving his 
course to be traced by the slain and wounded. 
To protect his camp from these assaults, Fer- 
dinand fortified it with deep trenches and strong 
bulwarks. It was of a quadrangular form, di- 
vided into streets like a city, the troops being 
quartered in tents, and in booths constructed of 
bushes and branches of trees. When it was 
completed, Queen Isabella came in state, with all 
her court, and the prince and princesses, to be 
present at the siege. This was intended, as on 
former occasions, to reduce the besieged to de- 
spair, by showing the determination of the sove- 
eigns to reside in the camp until the city should 
surrender. Immediately after her arrival, the 
queen rode forth, to survey the camp and its en- 
virons : wherever she went, she was attended by 
a splendid retinue ; and all the commanders vied 
with each other, in the pomp and ceremony with 
which they received her. Nothing was heard, 
from morning until night, but shouts and acclama- 
tions, and bursts of martial music ; so that it 
appeared to the Moors as if .a continual festival 
and triumph reigned in the Christian camp. 

The arrival of the queen, however, and the 



568 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

menaced obstinacy of the siege, had no effect in 
damping the fire of the Moorish chivalry. Muza 
inspired the youthful warriors with the most de- 
voted heroism : u We have nothing left to fight 
for," said he, " but the ground we stand on ; when 
this is lost, we cease to have a country and a 
name." 

Finding the Christian king forbore to make an 
attack, Muza incited his cavaliers to challenge 
the youthful chivalry of the Christian army to 
single combat, or partial skirmishes. Scarce a 
day passed without gallant conflicts of the kind, 
in sight of the city and the camp. The combat- 
ants rivaled each other in the splendor of their 
armor and array, as well as in the prowess of 
their deeds. Their contests were more like the 
stately ceremonials of tilts and tournaments, 
than the rude conflicts of the field. Ferdinand 
soon perceived that they animated the fiery Moors 
with fresh zeal and courage, while they cost the 
lives of many of his bravest cavaliers : he again, 
therefore, forbade the acceptance of any individ- 
ual challenges, and ordered that all partial encoun- 
ters should be avoided. The cool and stern pol- 
icy of the Catholic sovereign bore hard upon the 
generous spirits of either army, but roused the in- 
dignation of the Moors, when they found that they 
were to be subdued in this inglorious manner : 
" Of what avail," said they, " are chivalry and 
heroic valor? the crafty monarch of the Chris- 
tians has no magnanimity in warfare ; he seeks 
to subdue us through the weakness of our bodies 1 
but shuns to encounter the courage of our souls " 




CHAPTER XCIL 

Of the Insolent Defiance of Tarfe the Moor, and the Daring 
Exploit of Hernan Perez del Pulgar. 

HEN the Moorish knights beheld that 
all courteous challenges were unavail- 
ing, they sought various means to pro- 
voke the Christian warriors to the field. Some- 
times a body of them, fleetly mounted, would 
gallop up to the skirts of the camp, and try who 
should hurl his lance farthest within the barriers, 
having his name inscribed upon it, or a label af- 
fixed, containing some taunting defiance. These 
bravadoes caused great irritation ; still the Span- 
ish warriors were restrained by the prohibition of 
the king. 

Among the Moorish cavaliers was one named 
Tarfe, renowned for strength and daring spirit ; 
but whose courage partook of fierce audacity, 
rather than chivalric heroism. In one of these 
sallies, when skirting the Christian camp, this ar- 
rogant Moor outstripped his companions, over- 
leaped the barriers, and, galloping close to the 
royal quarters, launched his lance so far within, 
that it remained quivering in the earth close by 
the pavilions of the sovereigns. The royal guards 
rushed forth in pursuit, but the Moorish horsemen 



570 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

were already beyond the camp, and scouring in a 
cloud of dust for the city. Upon wresting the 
lance from the earth, a label was found upon it, 
importing that it was intended for the queen. 

Nothing could equal the indignation of the 
Christian warriors at the insolence of the bravado, 
and the discourteous insult offered to the queen. 
Hernan Perez del Pulgar, surnamed u he of the 
exploits," was present, and resolved not to be out- 
braved by this daring infidel : '* Who will stand 
by me/' said he, " in an enterprise of desperate 
peril ? " The Christian cavaliers well knew the 
hare-brained valor of Hernan, yet not. one hesitated 
to step forward. He chose fifteen companions, 
all of powerful arm and dauntless heart. 

His project was to penetrate Granada in the 
dead of the night, by a secret pass, made known 
to him by a Moorish renegade of the city, whom 
he had christened Pedro Pulgar, and who was to 
act as guide. They were to set fire to the Al- 
caiceria and other principal edifices, and then ef- 
fect their retreat as best they might. At the 
hour appointed, the adventurous troop set forth 
provided with combustibles. The renegade led 
them silently to a drain or channel of the river 
Darro, up which they proceeded cautiously, single 
file, until they halted under a bridge near the 
royal gate. Here dismounting, Pulgar stationed 
six of his companions to remain silent and mo- 
tionless and keep guard, while followed by the 
rest, and still guided by the renegade, he contin- 
ued up the drain or channel of the Darro, which 
passes under a part of the city, and was thus 



EXPLOIT OF PULGAR. 571 

enabled to make his way undiscovered into the 
streets. All was dark and silent. At the com- 
mand of Pulgar, the renegade led him to the 
principal mosque. Here the cavalier, pious as 
brave, threw himself on his knees, and drawing 
forth a parchment scroll on which was inscribed 
in large letters Ave Maria, nailed it to the door 
of the mosque, thus converting the heathen edi- 
fice into a Christian chapel and dedicating it to 
the blessed Virgin. This done, he hastened to 
the Alcaiceria to set it in a blaze. The combus- 
tibles were all placed, but Tristan de Monte- 
mayor, who had charge of the firebrand, had care- 
lessly left it at the door of the mosque. It was 
too late to return there. Pulgar was endeavor- 
ing to strike fire with flint and steel into the 
raveled end of a cord, when he was startled by 
the approach of the Moorish guard going the 
rounds. His hand was on his sword in an in- 
stant. Seconded by his brave companions, he 
assailed the astonished Moors and put them to 
flight. In a little while the whole city resounded 
with alarms, soldiers were hurrying through the 
streets in every direction ; but Pulgar, guided by 
the renegade, made good his retreat by the chan- 
nel of the Darro, to his companions at the bridge, 
and all mounting their horses, spurred back to the 
camp. The Moors were at a loss to imagine the 
meaning of this wild and apparently fruitless 
assault ; but great was their exasperation, on the 
following day, when the trophy of hardihood and 
prowess, the " Ave Maria," was discovered thus 
elevated in bravado in the very centre of the city. 



572 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

The mosque thus boldly sanctified by Hernan del 
Pulgar was actually consecrated into a cathedral, 
after the capture of Granada. 1 

1 The account here given of the exploit of Hernan del Pul- 
gar, differs from that given in the first edition, and is conform- 
able to the record of the fact in a manuscript called" Ihe 
House of Salar" existing in the library of Salazar, and cited 
by Alcantara in his History of Granada. 

In commemoration of this daring feat of Pulgar, the Empe- 
ror Charles V., in after years, conferred on that cavalier, and 
on his descendants, the marquesies of Salar, the privilege of 
sitting in the choir during high mass, and assigned as the 
place of sepulture of Pulgar himself, the identical spot where 
he kneeled to affix the sacred scroll ; and his tomb is still held 
in great veneration. This Hernan Perez del Pulgar was a 
man of letters, as well as arms, and inscribed to Charles V. a 
summary of the achievements of Gonsalvo of Cordova, sur- 
named the Great Captain, who had been one of his comrades 
in arms. He is often confounded with Hernando del Pulgar, 
historian aud secretarv to Queen Isabella. — See note to Pul- 
gar' s Chron. of the Catholic Sovereigns, part 3, c. iii. edit. Val- 
encia, 1780. 



5V 



<$> 



CHAPTER XCIII. 

How Queen Isabella took a View of the City of Granada — 
and how her Curiosity cost the Lives of many Christians 
and Moors. 




HE royal encampment lay so distant 
from Granada, that the general aspect 
of the city only could be seen, as it rose 
gracefully from the vega, covering the sides of the 
hills with palaces and towers. Queen Isabella 
had expressed an earnest desire to behold, nearer 
at hand, a city whose beauty was so renowned 
throughout the world ; and the marques of Cadiz, 
with his accustomed courtesy, prepared a great 
military escort and guard, to protect her and the 
ladies of the court, while they enjoyed this peril- 
ous gratification. 

On the morning of June the 18th, a magnifi- 
cent and powerful train issued from the Christian 
camp. The advanced guard was composed of 
legions of cavalry, heavily armed, looking like 
moving masses of polished steel. Then came the 
king and queen, with the prince and princesses, 
and the ladies of the court, surrounded by the 
royal body-guard, sumptuously arrayed, composed 
of the sons of the most illustrious houses of Spain ; 
after these was the rear-guard, a powerful force 
of horse and foot ; for the flower of the army sal- 



574 CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 

lied forth that day. The Moors gazed with fear- 
ful admiration at this glorious pageant, wherein 
the pomp of the court was mingled with the ter- 
rors of the camp. It moved along in radiant 
line, across the vega, to the melodious thunders 
of martial music; while banner and plume, and 
silken scarf, and rich brocade, gave a gay and 
gorgeous relief to the grim visage of iron war, 
that lurked beneath. 

The army moved towards the hamlet of Zubia, 
built on the skirts of the mountain to the left of 
Granada, and commanding a view of the Alham- 
bra, and the most beautiful quarter of the city. 
As they approached the hamlet, the marques of 
Villena, the count Urena, and Don Alonzo de 
Aguilar filed off with their battalions, and were 
soon seen glittering along the side of the moun- 
tain above the village. In the mean time the 
marques of Cadiz, the count de Tendilla, the 
count de Cabra, and Don Alonzo Fernandez, 
senior of Alcaudrete and Montemayor, drew up 
their forces in battle array on the plain below the 
hamlet, presenting a living barrier of loyal chiv- 
alry between the sovereigns and the city. 

Thus securely guarded, the royal party alighted, 
and, entering one of the houses of the hamlet, 
which had been prepared for their reception, en- 
joyed a full view of the city from its terraced 
roof. The ladies of the court gazed with delight 
at the red towers of the Alhambra, rising from 
amid shady groves, anticipating the time when 
the Catholic sovereigns should be enthroned within 
its walls, and its courts shine with the splendor 






A MARTIAL PARADE. 575 

of Spanish chivalry. " The reverend prelate? 
and holy friars, who always surrounded the queen, 
looked with serene satisfaction," says Fray Anto- 
nio Agapida, " at this modern Babylon, enjoying 
the triumph that awaited them, when those 
mosques and minarets should be converted into 
churches, and goodly priests and bishops should 
succeed to the infidel alfaquis." 

When the Moors beheld the Christians thus 
drawn forth in full array in the plain, they sup- 
posed it was to offer battle, and hesitated not to 
accept it. In a little while the queen beheld a 
body of Moorish cavalry pouring into the vega, 
the riders managing their fleet and fiery steeds 
with admirable address. They were richly armed, 
and clothed in the most brilliant colors, and the 
caparisons of their steeds flamed with gold and 
embroidery. This was the favorite squadron of 
Muza, composed of the flower of the youthful 
cavaliers of Granada. Others succeeded, some 
heavily armed, others a la gineta, with lance and 
buckler; and lastly came the legions of foot -sol- 
diers, with arquebus and cross-bow, and spear 
and scimetar. 

When the queen saw this army issuing from 
the city, she sent to the marques of Cadiz, and 
forbade any attack upon the enemy, or the ac- 
ceptance of any challenge to a skirmish ; for she 
was loth that her curiosity should cost the life of 
a single human being. 

The marques promised to obey, though sorely 
against his will ; and it grieved the spirit of the 
Spanish cavaliers to be obliged to remain with 



576 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

sheathed swords while bearded by the foe. The 
Moors could not comprehend the meaning of this 
inaction of the Christians, after having appar- 
ently invited a battle. They sallied several 
times from their ranks, and approached near 
enough to discharge their arrows ; but the 
Christians were immovable. Many of the 
Moorish horsemen galloped close to the Chris- 
tian ranks, brandishing their lances and sci- 
metars, and defying various cavaliers to sin- 
gle combat; but Ferdinand had rigorously 
prohibited all duels of this kind, and they 
dared not transgress his orders under his 
very eye. 

Here, however, the worthy Fray Antonio 
Agapida, in his enthusiasm for the triumphs 
of the faith, records the following incident, 
which we fear is not sustained by any grave 
chronicler of the times, but rests merely on 
tradition, or the authority of certain poets and 
dramatic writers, who have perpetuated the 
tradition in their works. While this grim and 
reluctant tranquillity prevailed along the Chris- 
tian line, says Agapida, there rose a mingled 
shout and sound of laughter near the gate of 
the city. A Moorish horseman, armed at all 
points, issued forth, followed by a rabble, who 
drew back as he approached the scene of dan- 
ger. The Moor was more robust and brawny 
than was common with his countrymen. His 
visor was closed ; he bore a huge buckler and 
a ponderous lance ; his scimetar was of a Da- 
mascus blade, and his richly ornamented dagger 
was wrought by an artificer of Fez. He was 
known by his device to be Tarfe, the most 



GARCILASSO AND TARFE. bll 

insolent, yet valiant, of the Moslem warriors — - 
the same who had hurled into the royal camp his 
lance, inscribed to the queen. As he rode slowly 
along in front of the army, his very steed, pran- 
cing with fiery eye and distended nostril, seemed 
to breathe defiance to the Christians. 

But what were the feelings of the Spanish 
cavaliers, when they beheld, tied to the tail of 
his steed, and dragged in the dust, the very in- 
scription, " Aye Maria," which Hernan Perez 
del Pulgar had affixed to the door of the mosque ! 
A burst of horror and indignation broke forth 
from the army. Hernan was not at hand, to 
maintain his previous achievement ; but one of 
his young companions in arms, Garcilasso de la 
Vega by name, putting spurs to his horse, gal- 
loped to the hamlet of Zubia, threw himself on 
his knees before the king, and besought permis- 
sion to accept the defiance of this insolent infidel, 
and to revenge the insult offered to our blessed 
Lady. The request was too pious to be refused : 
Garcilasso remounted his steed ; closed his hel- 
met, graced by four sable plumes, grasped his 
buckler of Flemish workmanship, and his lance 
of matchless temper, and defied the haughty 
Moor in the midst of his career. A combat took 
place, in view of the two armies and of the Cas- 
tilian court. The Moor was powerful in wield- 
ing his weapons, and dexterous in managing his 
steed. He was of larger frame than Garcilasso, 
and more completely armed; and the Christians 
trembled for their champion. The -shock of their 

encounter was dreadful ; their lances were shiv- 
37 



578 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

ered, and sent up splinters in the air. Garcilasso 
was thrown back in his saddle — his horse made 
a wide career before he could recover, gather up 
the reins, and return to the conflict. They now 
encountered each other with swords. The Moor 
circled round his opponent, as a hawk circles 
whereabout to make a swoop ; his steed obeyed 
his rider with matchless quickness ; at every at- 
tack of the infidel, it seemed as if the Christian 
knight must sink beneath his flashing scimetar. 
But if Garcilasso was inferior to him in power, 
he was superior in agility; many of his blows he 
parried ; others he received upon his Flemish 
shield, which was proof against the Damascus 
blade. The blood streamed from numerous 
wounds received by either warrior. The Moor, 
seeing his antagonist exhausted, availed himself 
of his superior force, and, grappling, endeavored 
to wrest him from his saddle. They both fell to 
earth ; the Moor placed his knee upon the breast 
of his victim, and, brandishing his dagger, aimed 
a blow at his throat. A cry of despair was ut- 
tered by the Christian warriors, when suddenly 
they beheld the Moor rolling lifeless in the dust. 
Garcilasso had shortened his sword, and, as his 
adversary raised his arm to strike, had pierced 
him to the heart. " It was a singular and mirac- 
ulous victory," says Fray Antonio Agapida ; u but 
the Christian knight was armed by the sacred 
nature of his cause, and the holy Virgin gave 
him strength, like another David, to slay this 
gigantic champion of the Gentiles. ,, 

The laws of chivalry were observed through- 






THE QUEEN'S SKIRMISH. 579 

out the combat — no one interfered on either side 
Garcilasso now despoiled his adversary ; then, 
rescuing the holy inscription of " Ave Maria " 
from its degrading situation, he elevated it on the 
point of his sword, and bore it off as a signal of 
triumph, amidst the rapturous shouts of the 
Christian army. 1 

The sun had now reached the meridian ; and 
the hot blood of the Moors was inflamed by its 
rays, and by the sight of the defeat of their 
champion. Muza ordered two pieces of ordnance 
to open a fire upon the Christians. A confusion 
was produced in one part of their ranks : Muza 
called to the chiefs of the army, " Let us waste 
no more time in empty challenges — let us charge 
upon the enemy : he who assaults has always an 
advantage in the combat." So saying, he rushed 
forward, followed by a large body of horse and 
foot, and charged so furiously upon the advance 
guard of the Christians, that he drove it in upon 
the battalion of the marques of Cadiz. 

The gallant marques now considered himself 
absolved from all further obedience to the queen's 
commands. He gave the signal to attack. " San- 
tiago ! " was shouted along the line ; and he pressed 
forward to the encounter, with his battalion of 
twelve hundred lances. The other cavaliers fol- 
lowed his example, and the battle instantly be- 
came general. 

When the king and queen beheld the armies 

1 The above incident has been commemorated in old Span- 
bh ballads, and made the subject of a scene in an old Spanish 
Irama, ascribed by some to Lope de Vega. 



580 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

thus rushing to the combat, they threw themselves 
on their knees, and implored the holy Virgin to 
protect her faithful warriors. The prince and 
princess, the ladies of the court, and the prelates 
and friars who were present, did the same ; and 
the effect of the prayers of these illustrious and 
saintly persons, was immediately apparent. The 
fierceness with which the Moors had rushed to the 
attack was suddenly cooled ; they were bold and 
adroit for a skirmish, but unequal to the veteran 
Spaniards in the open field. A panic seized upon 
the foot-soldiers — - they turned, and took to flight. 
Muza and his cavaliers in vain endeavored to rally 
them. " Some took refuge in the mountains ; but 
the greater part fled to the city, in such confusion 
that they overturned and trampled upon each 
other. The Christians pursued them to the very 
gates. Upwards of two thousand were either 
killed, wounded, or taken prisoners ; and the two 
pieces of ordnance were brought off as trophies 
of the victory. Not a Christian lance but was 
bathed that day in the blood of an infidel. 1 

Such was the brief but bloody action, which 
was known among the Christian warriors by the 
name of " the queen's skirmish ; " for when the 
marques of Cadiz waited upon her majesty to 
apologize for breaking her commands, he attributed 
the victory entirely to her presence. The queen, 
however, insisted that it was all owing to her 
troops being led on by so valiant a commander. 
Her majesty had not yet recovered from her agi- 
tation at beholding so terrible a scene of bloodshed ; 

i Cur a de los Palacios, cap. 101. • Zurita, lib. 20, cap. 88. 



A NOCTURNAL SKIRMISH. 581 

though certain veterans present pronounced it as 
gay and gentle a skirmish as they had ever wit- 
nessed. 

The gayety of this gentle pass at arms, how- 
ever, was somewhat marred by a rough reverse 
in the ' evening. Certain of the Christian cav- 
alters, among whom were the count de Urena, 
Don Alonzo Aguilar, his brother Gonsalvo of 
Cordova, Diego Castrillo, commander of Calatrava, 
and others to the number of fifty, remained in 
ambush near Armilla, expecting the Moors would 
sally forth at night to visit the scene of battle 
and. to bury their dead. They were discovered 
by a Moor, who had climbed an elm-tree to re- 
connoiter, and hastened into the city to give notice 
of their ambush. Scarce had night fallen when 
the cavaliers found themselves surrounded by a 
host which in the darkness seemed innumerable. 
The Moors attacked them with sanguinary fury, 
to revenge the disgrace of the morning. The 
cavaliers fought to every disadvantage, over- 
whelmed by numbers, ignorant of the ground, 
perplexed by thickets and by the water-courses 
of the gardens, the sluices of which were all 
thrown open. Even retreat was difficult. The 
count de Urena was surrounded and in imminent 
peril, from which he was saved by two of his 
faithful followers at the sacrifice of their lives. 
Several cavaliers lost their horses, and were them- 
selves put to death in the water-courses. Gon- 
salvo of Cordova came near having his own illus- 
trious career cut short in this obscure skirmish. 



582 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

He had fallen into a water-course, whence he ex- 
tricated himself, covered with mud, -and so en- 
cumbered with his armor, that he could not re- 
treat. Inigo de Mendoza, a relative of his brother 
Alonzo, seeing his peril, offered him his horse: 
u Take it Senor," said he, 4 * for you cannot save 
yourself on foot, and I can : but should I fall, take 
care of my wife and daughters." 

Gonsalvo accepted the devoted offer, mounted 
the horse, and had made but tew paces, when a 
lamentable cry caused him to turn his head, and 
he beheld the faithful Mendoza transfixed by 
Moorish lances. The four principal cavaliers al- 
ready named, with several of their followers, ef- 
fected their retreat and reached the camp in safety ; 
but this nocturnal reverse obscured the morning's 
triumph. Gonsalvo remembered the last words 
of the devoted Mendoza, and bestowed a pension 
on his widow and marriage portions on his 
daughters. 1 

To commemorate the victory of which she had 
been an eye-witness, Queen Isabella afterwards 
erected a monastery in the village of Zubia, ded- 
icated to St. Francisco, which still exists, and in 
its garden is a laurel planted by her hands. 2 

1 The account of this nocturnal affair, is from Peter Martyr, 
lib 4, Epist. 90, and Pulgar, Hazanas dtl Gran. Captain, page 
188, as cited by Alcantara, Hist. Granada, torn. 4, cap. 18. 

2 The house whence the king and queen contemplated the 
oattle, is likewise to be seen at the present day. It is the first 
street to the right on entering the village from the vega; and 
the royal arms are painted on the ceilings. It is inhabited by 



A RELIC OF THE CONQUEST. 



583 



a worthy farmer, Francisco Garcia, who in showing the house 
to the writer, refused all compensation, with true Spanish 
pride ; offering, on the contrary, the hospitalities of his mansion. 
His children are versed in the old Spanish ballads, about the 
exploits of Hernan Perez del Fulgar and Garcilasso de la 
Vega. 





CHAPTER XCIV. 

The last Ravage before Granada. 

HE ravages of war had as yet spared a 
little portion of the vega of Granada. 
A green belt of gardens and orchards 
still flourished round the city, extending along the 
banks of the Xenil and the Darro. They had 
been the solace and delight of the inhabitants in 
their hapj. kr days, and contributed to their suste- 
nance in this time of scarcity. Ferdinand deter- 
mined to make a final and exterminating ravage 
to the very walls of the city, so that there should 
not remain a single green thing for the sustenance 
of man or beast. The eighth of July was the 
day appointed for this act of desolation. Boabdil 
was informed by his spies of the intention of the 
Christian king, and prepared to make a desperate 
defense. Hernando de Baeza, a Christian, who 
resided with the royal family in the Alhambra as 
interpreter, gives in a manuscript memoir an 
account of the parting of Boabdil from his family 
as he went forth to battle. At an early hour of 
the appointed day, the eighth of July, he bathed 
and perfumed himself as the Moors of high rank 
were accustomed to do when they went forth to 
peril their lives. Arrayed in complete armor he 
took leave of his mother, his wife, and his sister, 



THE LAST RAVAGE. 585 

in the ante-chamber of the tower of Comares. 
Ayxa la Horra, with her usual dignity, bestowed 
on him her benediction, and gave him her hand 
to kiss. It was a harder parting with his son and 
his daughter, who hung round him with sobs and 
tears ; the dueiias and doncellas too, of the royal 
household, made the halls of the Alhambra re- 
sound with their lamentations. He then mounted 
his horse and put himself in front of his squad- 
rons. 1 

The Christian army approached close to the 
city, and were laying waste the gardens- and or- 
chards, when Boabdil sallied forth, surrounded 
by all that was left of the flower and chivalry of 
Granada. There is one place where even the 
coward becomes brave — that sacred spot called 
home. What then must have been the valor of 
the Moors, a people always of chivalrous spirit, 
when the war was thus brought to their thresh- 
olds ! They fought among the scenes of their 
loves and pleasures, the scenes of their infancy, 
and the haunts of their domestic life. They 
fought under the eyes of their wives and child- 
ren, their old men and their maidens, of all that 
was helpless and all that was dear to them ; 
for all Granada, crowded on tower and battle- 
ment, watched with trembling heart the fate of this 
< ventful day. 

There was not so much one battle, as a variety 
of battles ; every garden and orchard became a 
scene of deadly contest ; every inch of ground 

1 Hernando de Baeza, as cited by Alcantara, Hut. Grar 
nada, torn. 4, cap. 18. 



586 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

was disputed, with an agony of grief and valor, by 
the Moors ; every inch of ground that the Chris- 
tians advanced, they valiantly maintained ; but 
never did they advance with severer fighting, or 
greater loss of blood. 

The cavalry of Muza was in every part of the 
fjeld ; wherever it came, it gave fresh ardor 
to the fight. The Moorish soldier, fainting with 
heat, fatigue, and wounds, was roused to new life 
at the approach of Muza; and even he who lay 
gasping in the agonies of death, turned his face 
towards him, and faintly uttered cheers and bless- 
ings as he passed. 

Tiie Christians had by this time gained posses- 
sion of various towers near the city, whence they 
had been annoyed by cross-bows and arquebuses. 
The Moors, scattered in various actions, were se- 
verely pressed. Boabdil, at the head of the cav- 
aliers of his guard, mingling in the fight in various 
parts of the field, endeavored to inspirit the foot- 
soldiers to the combat. But the Moorish infantry 
was never to be depended upon. In the heat of 
the action, a panic seized upon them ; they fled, 
leaving their sovereign exposed with his handful 
of cavaliers to an overwhelming force. Boabdil 
was on the point of falling into the hands of the 
Christians, when, wheeling round, he and his fol- 
lowers threw the reins on the necks of their 
steeds, and took refuge by dint of hoof within 
the walls of the city. 1 

Muza endeavored to retrieve the fortune of the 
field. He threw himself before the retreating 
l Zurita, lib. 20, cap. 88. 



THE LAST SALLY OF THE MOORS. 587 

infantry, calling upon them to turn and fight for 
their homes, their families, for everything sacred 
and dear to them. All in vain : totally broken 
and dismayed, they fled tumultuously for the 
gates. Muza would fain have kept the field with 
his cavalry ; but this devoted band, having stood 
the brunt of war throughout this desperate cam- 
paign, was fearfully reduced in numbers, and 
many of the survivors were crippled and enfee- 
bled by their wounds. Slowly and reluctantly, 
therefore, he retreated to the city, his bosom 
swelling with indignation and despair. Entering 
the gates, he ordered them to be closed, and se- 
cured with bolts and bars : for he refused to place 
any further confidence in the archers and arque- 
busiers stationed to defend .them, and vowed never 
more to sally with foot soldiers to the field. 

In the mean time the artillery thundered from 
the walls, and checked all further advance of the 
Christians. King Ferdinand, therefore, called off 
his troops, and returned in triumph to the ruins 
of his camp, leaving the beautiful city of Granada 
wrapped in the smoke of her fields and gardens, 
and surrounded by the bodies of her slaughtered 
children. 

Such was the last sally of the Moors, in de- 
fense of their favorite city. The French ambas- 
sador, who witnessed it, was filled with wonder, 
at the prowess, the dexterity, and daring of the 
Moslems. 

In truth, this whole war was an instance, 
memorable in history, of the most persevering 
resolution. For nearly ten years had the war en 



588 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

dured — an almost uninterrupted series of disas- 
ters to the Moorish arms. Their towns had been 
taken, one after another, and their brethren slain 
or led into captivity. Yet they disputed every 
city and town, aud fortress and castle, nay every 
rock itself, as if they had been inspirited by vic- 
tories. Wherever they could plant foot to fight, 
or find wall or cliff whence to launch an arrow, 
they disputed their beloved country ; and now, 
when their capital was cut off from all relief, and 
a whole nation thundered at its gates, they still 
maintained defense, as if they hoped some miracle 
to interpose in their behalf. Their obstinate re- 
sistance (says an ancient chronicler) shows the 
grief with which they yielded up the vega, which 
was to them a paradise and heaven. Exerting 
all the strength of their arms, they embraced, as 
it were, that most beloved soil, from which 
neither wounds, nor defeats, nor death itself, 
could part them, They stood firm, battling for 
it with the united force of love and grief, never 
drawing back the foot while they had hands to 
fight, or fortune to befriend them. 1 

1 Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, R. 30. cap. 3. 




CHAPTER XCV. 

Conflagration of the Christian Camp. — Building of Santa F& 

HE Moors now shut themselves up 
gloomily within their walls ; there were 
no longer any daring sallies from their 
gates ; and even the martial clangor of the drum 
and trumpet, which had continually resounded 
within that warrior city, was now seldom heard 
from its battlements. In the midst of this deep 
despondency, a signal disaster in the Christian 
camp, for a moment lit up a ray of hope in the 
bosom of theMoors. 

The setting sun of a hot summer's day, on the 
10th of July, shone splendidly upon the Christian 
camp, which was in a bustle of preparation for the 
next day's service, when an attack was meditated 
on the city. The camp made a glorious appear- 
ance. The various tents of the royal family and 
the attendant nobles were adorned with rich hang- 
ings, and sumptuous devices, and costly furniture ; 
forming as it were, a little city of silk and brocade, 
where the pinnacles of pavilions of various gay 
colors, surmounted with waving standards and 
fluttering pennons, might vie with the domes and 
minarets of the capital they were besieging. 

In the midst of this little gaudy metropolis, the 



590 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

lofty tent of the queen domineered over the rest 
like a stately palace. The marques of Cadiz had 
courteously surrendered his own tent to the queen. 
It was the most complete and sumptuous in Chris- 
tendom, and had been carried about with him 
throughout the war. In the centre rose a stately 
alfaneque or pavilion, in oriental taste, the rich 
hangings being supported by columns of lances, 
and ornamented with martial devices. This cen- 
tral pavilion, or silken tower, was surrounded by 
other compartments, some of painted linen lined 
with silk, and all separated from each other by 
curtains. It was one of those camp palaces 
which are raised and demolished in an instant, 
like the city of canvas which surrounds them. 

As the evening advanced, the bustle in the 
camp subsided. Every one sought repose, pre- 
paratory to the next day's trial. The king retired 
early, that he might be up with the crowing of 
the cock, to head the destroying army in person. 
All stir of military preparation was hushed in 
the royal quarters ; the very sound of minstrelsy 
was mute, and not the tinkling of a guitar was to 
be heard from the tents of the fair ladies of the 
court. 

The queen had retired to the innermost part 
of her pavilion, where she was performing her 
orisons before a private altar; perhaps the peril 
to which the king might be exposed in the next 
day's foray, inspired her with more than usual de- 
votion. While thus at her prayers, she was- sud- 
denly aroused by a glare of light, and wreaths of 
suffocating smoke. In an instant, the whole tent 



CONFLAGRATION OF THE CAMP. 591 

was in a blaze ; there was a high gusty wind, 
which whirled the light flames from tent to tent, 
and wrapped the whole in one conflagration. 

Isabella had barely time to save herself by in- 
stant flight. Her first thought, on being extrica- 
ted from her tent, was for the safety of the king. 
She rushed to his tent, but the vigilant Ferdi- 
nand was already at the entrance of it. Starting 
from bed on the first alarm, and fancying it an 
assault of the enemy, he had seized his sword and 
buckler, and sallied forth undressed, with his cui- 
rass upon his arm. 

The late gorgeous camp was now a scene of 
wild confusion. The flames kept spreading from 
one pavilion to another, glaring upon the rich 
armor, and golden and silver vessels, which 
seemed melting in the fervent heat. Many of 
the soldiers had erected booths and bowers of 
branches, which, being dry, crackled and blazed, 
and added to the rapid conflagration. The ladies 
of the court fled, shrieking and half-dressed, from 
their tents. There was an alarm of drum and 
trumpet, and a distracted hurry about the camp 
of men half armed. The prince Juan had been 
snatched out of bed by an attendant, and con- 
veyed to the quarters of the count de Cabra, 
which were at the entrance of the camp. The 
loyal count immediately summoned his people, 
and those of his cousin Don Alonzo de Monte- 
mayor, and formed a guard round the tent in 
which the prince was sheltered. 

The idea that this was a stratagem of the 
Moors, soon subsided ; but it was feared they 



592 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

might take advantage of it, to assault the camp. 
The marques of Cadiz, therefore, sallied forth 
with three thousand horse, to check any advance 
from the city. As they passed along, the whole 
camp was a scene of hurry and consternation — ■ 
some hastening to their posts, at the call of drum 
and trumpet ; some attempting to save rich effects 
and glittering armor from the tents, others drag- 
ging along terrified and restive horses. 

When they emerged from the camp, they found 
the whole firmament illuminated. The flames 
whirled up in long light spires, and the air was 
filled with sparks and cinders. A bright glare 
was thrown upon the city, revealing every battle- 
ment and tower. Turbaned heads were seen gaz- 
ing from every roof, and armor gleamed along 
the walls ; yet not a single warrior sallied from 
the gates: the Moors suspected some stratagem 
on the part of the Christians, and kept quietly 
within their walls. By degrees, the flames ex- 
pired ; the city faded from sight ; all again be- 
came dark and quiet, and the marques of Cadiz 
returned with his cavalry to the camp. 

When the day dawned on the Christian camp, 
nothing remained of that beautiful assemblage of 
stately pavilions, but heaps of smouldering rub- 
bish, with helms and corselets and other furniture 
of war, and masses of melted gold and silver glit- 
tering among the ashes. The wardrobe of the 
cpieen was entirely destroyed, and there was an 
immense loss in plate, jewels, costly stuffs, and 
sumptuous armor of the luxurious nobles. The 
dre at first had been attributed to treachery, but 



HOPES OF THE MOORS. 593 

on investigation it proved to be entirely acci- 
dental. The queen, on retiring to her prayers, 
had ordered her lady in attendance to remove a 
light burning near her couch, lest it should pre- 
vent he* sleeping. Through heedlessness, the 
taper was placed in another part of the tent, near 
die hangings, which being blown against it by a 
gust of wind, immediately took fire. 

The wary Ferdinand knew the sanguine tem- 
perament of the Moors, and hastened to prevent 
their deriving confidence from the night's disaster. 
At break of day, the drums and trumpets sounded 
to arms, and the Christian army issued forth from 
among the smoking ruins of their camp, in shin- 
ing squadrons, with flaunting banners and bursts 
of martial melody, as though the preceding night 
had been a time of high festivity, instead of 
terror. 

The Moors had beheld the conflagration with 
wonder and perplexity. When the day broke, 
and they looked towards the Christian camp, they 
saw nothing but a dark, smoking mass. Their 
scouts came in with the joyful intelligence that 
the whole camp was a scene of ruin. In the 
exultation of the moment, they flattered them- 
selves with hopes that the catastrophe would 
discourage the besiegers; that as in former years, 
their invasion would end with the summer and 
they would withdraw before the autumnal rains. 

The measures of Ferdinand and Isabella soon 
crushed these hopes. They gave, orders to build 
a regular city upon the site of their camp, to con- 
vince the Moors that the siege was to endure 
38 



594 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

until the surrender of Granada. Nine of the 
principal cities of Spain were charged with this 
stupendous undertaking ; and they emulated each 
other, with a zeal worthy of the cause. " It 
verily seems," says Fray Antonio Agapida, " as 
though some miracle operated to aid this pious 
work, so rapidly did arise a formidable city, with 
solid edifices, and powerful walls, and mighty 
towers, where lately had been seen nothing but 
tents and light pavilions. The city was trav- 
ersed by two principal streets in form of a 
cross, terminating in four gates facing the four 
winds ; and in the centre was a vast square, 
where the whole army might be assembled. To 
this city it was proposed to give the name of 
Isabella, so dear to the army and the nation ; 
" but that pious princess/' adds Antonio Agapida, 
" calling to mind the holy cause in which it was 
erected, gave it the name of Santa Fe (or the 
City of the Holy Faith) ; and it remains to this 
day, a monument of the piety and glory of the 
Catholic sovereigns." 

Hither the merchants soon resorted, from all 
points. Long trains of mules were seen every 
day entering and departing from its gates ; the 
streets were crowded with magazines, filled with 
all kinds of costly and luxurious merchandise ; a 
scene of bustling commerce and prosperity took 
place, while unhappy Granada remained shut up 
*nd desolate. 




CHAPTER XCVL 

Famine and Discord in the City. 

HE besieged city now began to suffer the 
distress of famine. Its supplies were all 
cutoff; a cavalgada of flocks and herds, 
and mules laden with money, coming to the re- 
lief of the city from the mountains of the AIpux- 
arras, was taken by the marques of Cadiz, and 
led in triumph to the camp, in sight of the suffer- 
ing Moors. Autumn arrived ; but the harvests 
had been swept from the face of the country ; a 
rigorous winter was approaching, and the city 
was almost destitute of provisions. The people 
sank into deep despondency. They called to mind 
all that had been predicted by astrologers at 
the birth of their ill-starred sovereign, and all 
that had been foretold of the fate of Granada at 
the time of the capture of Zahara. 

Boabdil was alarmed by the gathering dangers 
from without, and by the clamors of his starving 
people. He summoned a council, composed of 
the principal officers of the army, the alcaydes 
of the fortresses, the xequis or sages of the city, 
and the alfaquis or doctors of the faith. They 
assembled in the great hall of audience of the 
Alhambra, and despair was painted in their coun- 
tenances. Boabdil demanded of them, what was 



596 CONQUEST OF GRANAua. 

to be done in the present extremity ; and their 
answer was, " Surrender." The venerable Abul 
Cazim, governor of the city, represented its 
unhappy state : " Our granaries are nearly ex- 
hausted, and no further supplies are to be ex- 
pected. The provender for the war-horses is 
required as sustenance for the soldiery ; the very 
horses themselves are killed for food ; of seven 
thousand steeds which once could be sent into 
the field, three hundred only remain. Our city 
contains two hundred thousand inhabitants, old 
and young, with each a mouth that calls piteously 
for bread." 

The xequis and principal citizens declared that 
the people could no longer sustain the labors and 
sufferings of a defense : " And of what avail is 
our defense," said they, " when the enemy is de- 
termined to persist in the siege ? — what alter- 
native remains, but to surrender or to die ? " 

The heart of Boabdil was touched by this 
appeal, and he maintained a gloomy silence. He 
had cherished some faint hope of relief from the 
soldan of Egypt or the Barbary powers ; but it 
was now at an end ; even if such assistance were 
to be sent, he had no longer a seaport where it 
might debark. The counselors saw that the res- 
olution of the king was shaken, and they united 
their voices in urging him to capitulate. 

Muza alone rose in opposition : " It is yet too 
early," said he, " to talk of a surrender. Our 
means are not exhausted ; we have yet one source 
of strength remaining, terrible in its effects, and 
which often has achieved the most signal victories 



MISSION OF ABUL CAZIM. 597 

— it is our despair. Let us rouse the mass of 
the people ; let us put weapons in their hands ; 
let us fight the enemy to the very utmost, until 
we rush upon the points of their lances. I am 
ready to lead the way into the thickest of their 
squadrons ; and much rather would I be num- 
bered among those who fell in the defense of 
Granada, than of those who survived to capitu- 
late for her surrender ! " 

The words of Muza were without effect, for 
they were addressed to broken-spirited and heart- 
less men, or men, perhaps, to whom sad expe- 
rience had taught discretion. They were arrived 
at that state of public depression, when heroes 
and heroism are no longer regarded, and when 
old men and their counsels rise into importance. 
Boabdil el Chico yielded to the general voice ; it 
was determined to capitulate with the Christian 
sovereigns ; and the venerable Abul Cazim was 
sent forth to the camp, empowered to treat for 
terms. 





CHAPTER XCVIL 

Capitulation of Granada. 

HE old governor Abul Cazim was re- 
ceived with great courtesy by Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella, who being informed 
of the purport of his embassy, granted the be- 
sieged a truce of sixty days from the 5th of Oc- 
tober, and appointed Gonsalvo of Cordova, and 
Fernando de Zafra, the secretary of the king, to 
treat about the terms of surrender with such 
commissioners as might be named by Boabdil. 
The latter on his part named Abul Cazim, Aben 
Comixa the vizier, and the grand cadi. As a 
pledge of good faith, Boabdil gave his son in 
hostage, who was taken to Moclin, where he was 
treated with the greatest respect and attention by 
the good count de Teudilla, as general of the 
frontier. 

The commissioners on both parts held repeated 
conferences in secret in the dead of the night, at 
the village of Churriana — those who first arrived 
at the place of meeting giving notice to the 
others by signal-fires, or by means of spies. 
After many debates and much difficulty, the ca- 
pitulation was signed on the 25th of November. 
According to this, the city was to be delivered 






ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION. 599 

up, with all its gates, towers, and fortresses, 
within sixty days. 

All Christian captives should be liberated, 
without ransom. 

Boabdil and his principal cavaliers should per- 
form the act of homage, and take an oath of 
fealty to the Castilian crown. 

The Moors of Granada should become subjects 
of the Spanish sovereigns, retaining their pos- 
sessions, their arms and horses, and yielding up 
nothing but their artillery. They should be pro- 
tected in the exercise of their religion, and gov- 
erned by their own laws, administered by cadis 
of their own faith, under governors appointed by 
the sovereigns. They should be exempted from 
tribute for three years, after which term they 
should pay the same that they had been accus- 
tomed to render to their native monarchs. 

Those who chose to depart for Africa within 
three years, should be provided with a passage 
for themselves and their effects, free of charge, 
from whatever port they should prefer. 

For the fulfillment of these articles, five hun- 
dred hostages from the principal families were re- 
quired, previous to the surrender, who should be 
treated with great respect and distinction by the 
Christians, and subsequently restored. The son 
of the king of Granada, and all other hostages 
in possession of the Castilian sovereigns, were to 
be restored at the same time. 

Such are the main articles affecting the public 
weal, which were agreed upon after much discus- 
sion by the mixed commission. There were other 



GOO CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

articles, however, secretly arranged, which con- 
cerned the royal family. These secured to Boabdil, 
to his wife Morayma, his mother Ayxa, his 
brothers, and to Zoraya, the widow of Muley Abul 
-Hassan, all the landed possessions, houses, mills, 
baths, and other hereditaments which formed the 
royal patrimony, with the power of selling them 
personally or by agent, at any and all times. To 
Boabdil was secured, moreover, his wealthy estates, 
both in and out of Granada, and to him and his 
descendants in perpetuity, the lordships of various 
towns and lands and fertile valleys in the Alpux- 
arras, forming a petty sovereignty. In addition 
to all which it was stipulated, that, on the day 
of surrender, he should receive thirty thousand 
castellanos of gold. 1 

The conditions of the surrender being finally 
agreed upon by the commissioners, Abul Cazim 
proceeded to the royal camp at Santa Fe, where 
they were signed by Ferdinand and Isabella ; he 
then returned to Granada, accompanied by Fer- 
nando de Zafra, the royal secretary, to have the 
same ratified also by the Moorish king. Boabdil 
assembled his council, and with a dejected coun- 
tenance laid before it the articles of capitulation 
as the best that could be obtained from the be- 
sieging foe. 

When the members of the council found the 
awful moment arrived when they were to sign and 
seal the perdition of their empire, and blot them- 
selves out as a nation, all firmness deserted chem, 
and many gave way to tears. Muza alone retained 
1 Alcantara, torn. 4, cap. 18. 



MUZ A AND BOABDIL. 601 

an unaltered mien : " Leave, seniors," cried he, 
*' this idle lamentation to helpless women and 
children : we are men — we have hearts, not to 
shed tender tears, but drops of blood. I see the 
spirit of the people so cast down, that it is im- 
possible to save the kingdom. Yet there still 
remains an alternative for noble minds — a glo- 
rious death ! Let us die defending our liberty, 
and avenging the woes of Granada. Our mother 
earth will receive her children into her bosom, 
safe from the chains and oppressions of the con- 
queror; or, should any fail a sepulchre to hide 
his remains, he will not want a sky to cover him. 
Allah forbid it should be said the nobles of Gra- 
nada feared to die in her defense ! " 

Muza ceased to speak, and a dead silence 
reigned in the assembly. Boabdil looked anx- 
iously round, and scanned every face ; but he 
read in all the anxiety of care-worn men, in 
whose hearts enthusiasm was dead, and who had 
grown callous to every chivalrous appeal. " Al- 
lah Achbar ! " exclaimed he ; " there is no God 
but God, and Mahomet is his prophet ! We have 
no longer forces in the city and the kingdom to 
resist our powerful enemies, It is in vain to 
struggle against the will of Heaven. Too surely 
was it written in the book of fate, that I should 
be unfortunate, and the kingdom expire under 
my rule." 

" Allah Achbar ! " echoed the viziers and al- 
faquis ; " the will of God be done ! " So they all 
agreed with the king, that these evils were pre- 
ordained ; that it was hopeless to contend with 



602 CONQUEST OF GkaNADA. 

them ; and that the terms offered by the Castil- 
ian monarchs were as favorable as could be ex- 
pected. 

When Muza heard them assent to the treaty 
of surrender, he rose in violent indignation : " Do 
not deceive yourselves," cried he, " nor think the 
Christians will be faithful to their promises, or 
their king as magnanimous in conquest as he has 
been victorious in war. Death is the least we 
have to fear. It is the plundering and sacking 
of our city, the profanation of our mosques, the 
ruin of our homes, the violation of our wives and 
daughters, cruel oppression, bigoted intolerance, 
whips and chains, the dungeon, the fagot, and the 
stake — such are the miseries and indignities we 
shall see and suffer ; at least, those groveling 
souls will see and suffer them, who now shrink 
from an honorable death. For my part, by Al- 
lah, I will never witness them ! " 

With these words he left the council-chamber, 
and passed gloomily through the Court of Lions, 
and the outer halls of the Alhambra, without 
deigning to speak to the obsequious courtiers who 
attended in them. He repaired to his dwelling, 
armed himself at all points, mounted his favorite 
war-horse, and, issuing from the city by the gate 
of Elvira, was never seen or heard of more. 1 

1 Conde, pt. 4^ 



CHAPTER XCVIII. 



Commotions m Granada. 




HE capitulation for the surrender of 

Granada was signed on the 25th of No- 
es 

vember, 1491, and produced a suddeu 
cessation of those hostilities which had raged for so 
many years. Christian and Moor might now be 
seen mingling courteously on the banks of the 
Xenil and the Darrow, where to have met a few 
days previous would have produced a scene of 
sanguinary contest. Still, as the Moors might be 
suddenly roused to defense, if, within the allotted 
term of sixty days, succors should arrive from 
abroad ; and as they were at all times a rash, in- 
flammable people, the wary Ferdinand maintained 
a vigilant watch upon the city, and permitted no 
supplies of any kind to enter. His garrisons in 
the seaports, and his cruisers in the Straits of 
Gibraltar, were ordered likewise to guard against 
any relief from the grand soldan of Egypt or the 
princes of Barbary. There was no need of such 
precautions. Those powers were either too much 
engrossed by their own wars, or too much daun- 
ted by the success of the Spanish arms, to inter- 
fere in a desperate cause ; and the unfortunate 
Moors of Granada were abandoned to their fkte. 



604 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

The month of December had nearly passed 
away ; the famine became extreme, and there was 
no hope of any favorable event within the term 
specified in the capitulation. Boabdil saw, that 
to hold out to the end of the allotted time would 
but be to protract the miseries of his people. 
With the consent of his council, he determined to 
surrender the city on the sixth of January. He 
accordingly sent his grand vizier, Yusef Aben 
Comixa, to King Ferdinand, to make known his 
intention; bearing him, at the same time, a pres- 
ent of a magnificent scimetar, and two Arabian 
steeds superbly caparisoned. 

The unfortunate Boabdil was doomed to meet 
with trouble, to the end of his career. The very 
next day, the santon or dervise, Hamet Aben Zar- 
rax, the same who had uttered prophecies and ex- 
cited commotion on former occasions, suddenly 
made his appearance. Whence he came no one 
knew ; it was rumored that he had been in the 
mountains of the Alpuxarras, and on the coast of 
Barbary, endeavoring to rouse the Moslems to the 
relief of Granada. He was reduced to a skeleton ; 
his eyes glowed like coals in their sockets, and his 
speech was little better than frantic raving. He 
harangued the populace, in the streets and 
squares ; inveighed against the capitulation, de- 
nounced the king and nobles as Moslems only in 
name, and called upon the people to sally forth 
against the unbelievers, for that Allah had de- 
creed them a signal victory. 

Upwards of twenty thousand of the populace 
seized their arms, and paraded the streets with 



COMMOTION IN GRANADA. 605 

shouts and outcries. The shops and houses were 
shut up ; the king himself did not dare to venture 
forth, but remained a kind of prisoner in the Al- 
hambra. 

The turbulent multitude continued roaming and 
shouting and howling about the city, during the 
day and a part of the night. Hunger, and a 
wintry tempest, tamed their frenzy ; and when 
morning came, the enthusiast who had led them 
on had disappeared. Whether he had been dis- 
posed of by the emissaries of the king, or by the 
leading men of the city, is not known : his disap- 
pearance remains a mystery. 1 

Boabdil now issued forth from the Alhambra, 
attended by his principal nobles, and harangued 
the populace. He set forth the necessity of com- 
plying with the capitulation, from the famine that 
reigned in the city, the futility of defense, and 
from the hostages having already been delivered 
into the hands of the besiegers. 

In the dejection of his spirits, the unfortunate 
Boabdil attributed to himself the miseries of the 
country. " It was my crime in ascending the 
throne in rebellion against my father," said he 
mournfully, " which has brought these woes upon 
the kingdom ; but Allah has grievously visited 
my sins upon my head. For your sake, my 
people, I have now made this treaty, to protect 
you from the sword, your little ones from famine, 
your wives and daughters from outrage ; and to 
secure you in the enjoyment of your properties, 
your liberties, your laws, and your religion, un- 
1 Marvana. 



606 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

dc 9 "overeign of happier destinies than the Hi- 
st? 'Ted Boabdil." 

The versatile population were touched by the 
humility of their sovereign — they agreed to ad- 
here to the capitulation, and there was even a faint 
shout of u Long live Boabdil the Unfortunate ! " 
and they all returned to their homes in perfect 
tranquillity. 

Boabdil immediately sent missives to King Fer- 
dinand, apprising him of these events, and of his 
fears lest further delay should produce new tu- 
mults. The vizier Yusef Aben Comixa was 
again the agent between the monarchs. He was 
received with unusual courtesy and attention by 
Ferdinand and Isabella, and it was arranged be- 
tween them that the surrender should take place 
on the second day of January instead of the sixth. 
A new difficulty now arose in regard to the cer- 
emonial of surrender. The haughty Ayxa la 
Horra, whose pride rose with the decline of her 
fortunes, declared that, as sultana mother, she 
would never consent that her son should stoop to 
the humiliation of kissing the hand of his con- 
querors^ and, unless this part of the ceremonial 
were modified, she would find means to resist a 
surrender accompanied by such indignities. 

Aben Comixa was sorely troubled by this op- 
position. He knew the high spirit of the indom- 
itable Ayxa, and her influence over her less he- 
roic son, and wrote an urgent letter on the sub- 
ject to his friend, the count de Tendilla. The 
latter imparted the circumstance to the Christian 
sovereigns ; a council was called on the matter. 



HAUGHTY SCRUPLES OF ATXA. 607 

Spanish pride and etiquette were obliged to bend 
in some degree to the haughty spirit of a woman. 
It was agreed that Boabdil should sally forth on 
horseback, that on approaching the Spanish sove- 
reigns he should make a slight movement as if 
about to draw his foot from the stirrup and dis- 
mount, but would be prevented from doing so by 
Ferdinand, who should treat hi im with a respect 
due to his dignity and elevated birth. The count 
de Tend ilia dispatched a messenger with this ar- 
rangement ; and the haughty scruples of Ayxa la 
Horra were satisfied. 1 

1 Salazar de Mendoza. Chron. del Gran. Cardinal, lib. 1, 
cap. 69, p. 1, Mondajar, His. MS. as cited by Alcantara, 
torn 4, cap. 18. 





CHAPTER XCIX. 

Surrender o r Granada. 

HE night preceding the surrender was a 
night of doleful lamentings, within the 
walls of the Alhambra ; for the house- 
hold of Boabdil were preparing to take a last 
farewell of that delightful abode. All the royal 
treasures and most precious effects were hastily 
packed upon mules ; the beautiful apartments 
were despoiled, with tears and wailings, by their 
own inhabitants. Before the dawn of day, a 
mournful cavalcade moved obscurely out of a pos- 
tern-gate of the Alhambra, and departed through 
one of the most retired quarters of the city. It 
was composed of the family of the unfortunate 
Boabdil, which he sent off thus privately, that 
they might not be exposed to the eyes of scoffers, 
or the exultation of the enemy. The mother of 
Boabdil, the sultana Ayxa la Horra, rode on in 
silence, with dejected yet dignified demeanor ; 
but his wife Morayma, and all the females of his 
household, gave way to loud lamentations, as they 
looked back upon their favorite abode, now a 
mass of gloomy towers behind them. They were 
attended by the ancient domestics of the house- 
hold, and by a small guard of veteran Moors, 



PREPARATIONS FOR THE SURRENDER. 609 

loyally attached to the fallen monarch, and who 
would have sold their lives dearly in defense of 
his family. The city was yet buried in sleep, as 
they passed through its silent streets. The guards 
at the gate shed tears, as they opened it for their 
departure. They paused not, but proceeded along 
the banks of the Xenil on the road that leads to 
the Alpuxarras, until they arrived at a hamlet at 
some distance from the city, where they halted, 
and waited until they should be joined by King 
Boabdil. 

The night which had passed so gloomily in the 
sumptuous halls of the Aihambra, had been one 
of joyfuL anticipation in the Christian camp. 
In the evening proclamation had been made that 
Granada was to be surrendered on the following 
day, and the troops were all ordered to assemble 
at an early hour under their several banners. 
The cavaliers, pages, and esquires were all charged 
to array themselves in their richest and most 
splendid style, for the occasion ; and even the royal 
family determined to lay by the mourning they 
had recently assumed for the sudden death of the 
prince of Portugal, the husband of the princess 
Isabella. In a clause of the capitulation it had 
been stipulated that the troops destined to take 
possession, should not traverse the city, but should 
ascend to the Aihambra by a road opened for the 
purpose outside of the walls. This was to spare 
the feelings of the afflicted inhabitants, and to pre- 
vent any angry collision between them and their 
conquerors. So rigorous was Ferdinand in en- 
forcing this precaution, that the soldiers were pro- 
39 



610 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

hibited under pain of death from leaving the ranks 
to enter into the city. 

The rising sun had scarce shed his rosy beams 
upon the snowy summits of the Sierra Nevada, 
when three signal guns boomed heavily from the 
lofty fortress of the Altrambra. It was the con- 
certed sign that all was ready for the surrender. 
The Christian army forthwith poured out of the 
city, or rather camp of Santa Fe, and advanced 
across the vega. The king and queen, with the 
prince and princess, the dignitaries and ladies of 
the court, took the lead, accompanied by the dif- 
ferent orders of monks and friars, and surrounded 
by the royal guards splendidly arrayed. The 
procession moved slowly forward, and paused at 
the village of Armilla, at the distance of half a 
league from the city. 

In the mean time, the grand cardinal of Spain, 
Don Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, escorted by 
three thousand foot and a troop of cavalry, and 
accompanied by the commander Don Gutierrez 
de Cardenas, and a number of prelates and hidal- 
gos, crossed the Xenil and proceeded in the ad- 
vance, to ascend to the Alhambra and take pos- 
session of that royal palace and fortress. The 
road which had been opened for the purpose led 
by the Puerta de los Molinos, or Gate of Mills, up 
a defile to the esplanade on the summit of the 
Hill of Martyrs. At the approach of this detach- 
ment, the Moorish king sallied forth from a postern 
gate of the Alhambra, having left his vizier Yusef 
Aben Comixa to deliver up the palace. The gate 
by which he sallied passed through a lofty tower 



THE SURRENDER. 611 

of the outer wall, called the Tower of the Seven 
Floors (de los siete suelos). He was accompanied 
by fifty cavaliers, and approached the grand car- 
dinal on foot. The latter immediately alighted, 
and advanced to meet him with the utmost re- 
spect. They stepped aside a few paces, and held 
a brief conversation in an undertone, when Boab- 
dll, raising his voice, exclaimed, " Go, Senor, and 
take possession of those fortresses in the name 
of the powerful sovereigns, to whom God has been 
pleased to deliver them in reward of their great 
merits, and in punishment of the sins of the 
Moors." The grand cardinal sought to console 
him in his reverses, and offered him the use of 
his own tent during any time he might sojourn in 
the camp. Boabdil thanked him for the courteous 
offer, adding some words of melancholy import, 
and then taking leave of him gracefully, passed 
mournfully on to meet the Catholic sovereigns, 
descending to the vega by the same road by which 
the cardinal had come. The latter, with the pre- 
lates and cavaliers who attended him, entered the 
Alhambra, the gates of which were thrown wide 
open by the alcayde Aben Comixa. At the same 
time the Moorish guards yielded up their arms, 
and the towers and battlements were taken pos- 
session of by the Christian troops. 

While these transactions were passing in the 
Alhambra and its vicinity, the sovereigns remained 
with their retinue and guards near the village of 
Armilla, their eyes fixed on the towers of the 
royal fortress, watching for the appointed signal 
>f possession. The time that had elapsed siuce 



612 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

the departure of the detachment seemed to them 
more than necessary for the purpose, and the 
anxious mind of Ferdinand began to entertain 
doubts of some commotion in the city. At length 
they saw the silver cross, the great standard of 
this crusade, elevated on the Torre de la Vela, or 
Great Watch-Tower, and sparkling in the sun- 
beams. This was done by Hernando de Talavera, 
bishop of Avila. Beside it was planted the 
pennon of the glorious apostle St. James, and a 
great shout of " Santiago ! Santiago ! " rose 
throughout the army. Lastly was reared the 
royal standard by the king of arms, with the 
shout of " Castile ! Castile ! For King Ferdinand 
and Queen Isabella ! " The words were echoed 
by the whole army, with acclamations that re- 
sounded across the vega. At sight of these 
signals of possession, the sovereigns sank upon 
their knees, giving thanks to God for this great 
triumph ; the whole assembled host followed their 
example, and the choristers of the royal chapel 
broke forth into the solemn anthem of " Te Deum 
laudamm" 

The king now advanced with a splendid escort 
of cavalry and the sound of trumpets, until he 
came to a small mosque near the banks of the 
Xenil, and not far from the foot of the Hill of 
Martyrs, which edifice remains to the present day 
consecrated as the hermitage of St. Sebastian. 
Here he beheld the unfortunate king of Granada 
approaching on horseback, at the head of his 
slender retinue. Boabdil as he drew near made 
a movement to dismount, but. as had previously 



THE SURRENDER. 613 

been concerted, Ferdinand prevented him. Ho 
then offered to kiss the king's hand, which, ac- 
cording to arrangement, was likewise declined, 
whereupon he leaned forward and kissed the king's 
right arm ; at the same time he delivered the keys 
of the city with an air of mingled melancholy and 
resignation: "These keys," said he, "are the last 
relics of the Arabian empire in Spain : thine, 
king, are our trophies, our kingdom, and our 
person. Such is the will of God ! Receive them 
with the clemency thou hast promised, and which 
we look fur at thy hands." x 

King Ferdinand restrained his exultation into 
an air of serene magnanimity. " Doubt not our 
promises," replied he, " nor that thou shalt regain 
from our friendship the prosperity of which the 
fortune of war has deprived thee." 

Being informed that Don Inigo Lopez de Men- 
doza, the good count of Tendilla, was to be 
governor of the city, Boabdil drew from his fin- 
ger a gold ring set with a precious stone, and pre- 
sented it to the count. u With this ring," said he, 
'• Granada has been governed ; take it and govern 
with it, and God make you more fortunate than I." 2 

He then proceeded to the village of Armilla, 
where the queen Isabella remained with her escort 

1 Abarca, Anales de Aragon, Reg 30, cap. 3. 

2 I'his ring remained in the possession of the descendants 
of the count until the death of the marques Don Inigo, the 
^ast male heir, who died in Malaga without children, in 1656. 
The ring was then lost through inadvertence and ignorance 
of its value, Dona Maria, the sister of the marques, being ab- 
sent in Madrid. Alcantara, lib. <i, cap. 18. 



6H CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

and attendants. The queen, like her husband, 
declined all acts of homage, and received him with 
her accustomed grace and benignity. She at the 
same time delivered to him his son, who had been 
held as a hostage for the fulfillment of the capit- 
ulation. Boabdil pressed his child to his bosom 
with tender emotion, and they seemed mutually 
endeared to each other by their misfortunes. 1 

Having rejoined his family, the unfortunate 
Boabdil continued on towards the Alpuxarras, 
that he might not behold the entrance of the 
Christians into his capital. His devoted band of 
cavaliers followed him in gloomy silence ; but 
heavy sighs burst from their bosoms, as shouts of 
joy and strains of triumphant music were borne 
on the breeze from the victorious army. 

Having rejoined his family, Boabdil set for- 
ward with a heavy heart for his allotted residence 
in the Valley of Purchena. At two leagues' dis- 
tance, the cavalcade, winding into the skirts of 
the Alpuxarras, ascended an eminence command- 
ing the last view of Granada. As they arrived 
at this spot, the Moors paused involuntarily, to 
take a farewell gaze at their beloved city, which 
a few steps more would shut from their sight for- 
ever. Never had it appeared so lovely in their 
eyes. The sunshine, so bright in that transpa- 
rent climate, lit up each tower and minaret, and 
jested gloriously upon the crowning battlements 
of the Alhambra ; while the vega spread its 
enameled bosom of verdure below, glistening with 
the silver windings of the Xenil. The Moorish 
1 Zurita, Andes de Aragon, lib. 20, cap. 92. 



THE LAST SIGH OF THE MOOR. 615 

cavaliers gazed with a silent agony of tenderness 
and grief upon that delicious abode, the scene of 
their loves and pleasures. While they yet looked, 
a light cloud of smoke burst forth from the cita- 
del, and presently a peal of artillery, faintly 
heard, told that the city was taken possession of, 
and the throne of the Moslem kings was lost for- 
ever. The heart of Boabdil, softened by misfor- 
tunes and overcharged with grief, could no longer 
contain itself: "Allah Achbar ! God is great!" 
said he ; but the words of resignation died upon 
Ais lips, and he burst into tears. 

His mother, the intrepid Ayxa, was indignant 
at his weakness : " You do well," said she, " to 
weep like a woman for what you failed to defend 
like a man ! " 

The vizier Aben Comixa endeavored to con- 
sole his royal master. " Consider, Senor," said 
he, "that the most signal misfortunes often ren- 
der men as renowned as the most prosperous 
achievements, provided they sustain them with 
magnanimity." 

The unhappy monarch, however, was not to be 
consoled ; his tears continued to flow. " Allah 
Achbar!" exclaimed he, " when did misfortunes 
ever equal mine ? " 

From this circumstance, the hill, which is not 
far from Padul, took the name of Feg Allah 
Achbar; but the point of view commanding the 
last prospect of Granada is known among Span- 
iards by the name of El ultimo suspiro del Moro , 
or, " The last sigh of the Moor." 




CHAPTEE C. 

How the Castilian Sovereigns took Possession of Granada. 

UEEN ISABELLA having joined the 
king, the royal pair, followed by a tri- 
umphant host, passed up the road by the 
Hill of Martyrs, and thence to the main entrance 
of the Alhambra. The grand cardinal awaited 
them under the lofty arch of the great Gate of 
Justice, accompanied by Don Gutierrez de Car- 
denas and Aben Comixa. Here King Ferdinand 
gave the keys which had been delivered up to 
him into the hands of the queen ; they were 
passed successively into the hands of the prince 
Juan, the grand cardinal, and finally into those of 
the count de Tendilla, in whose custody they re- 
mained, that brave cavalier having been named 
alcayde of the Alhambra, and captain-general of 
Granada. 

The sovereigns did not remain long in the 
Alhambra on this first visit, but leaving a strong 
garrison there under the count de Tendilla^ to 
maintain tranquillity in the palace and the subja- 
cent city, returned to the camp at Santa Fe. 

We must not omit to mention a circumstance 
attending the surrender of the city, which spoke 
eloquently to the hearts of the victors. As the 
royal army had advanced in all the pomp of 



OCCUPATION OF THE CITY. 617 

courfly and chivalrous array, a procession of a 
different kind came forth to meet it. This was 
composed of more than five hundred Christian 
captives, many of whom had languished for years 
in Moorish dungeons. Pale and emaciated, they 
came clanking their chains in triumph, and shed- 
ding tears of joy. They were received with ten- 
derness by the sovereigns. The king hailed them 
as good Spaniards, as men loyal and brave, as 
martyrs to the holy cause ; the queen distributed 
liberal relief among them with her own hands, 
and they passed on before the squadrons of the 
army, singing hymns of jubilee. 1 

The sovereigns forbore to enter the city until 
it should be fully occupied by their troops, and 
public tranquillity insured* All this was done 
under the vigilant superintendence of the count 
de Tendilla, assisted by the marques of Villena ; 
and the glistening of Christian helms and lances 
along the walls and bulwarks, and the standards 
of the faith and of the realm flaunting from the 
towers, told that the subjugation of the city was 
complete. The proselyte prince, Cid Hiaya, now 
known by the Christian appellation of Don Pedro 
de Granada Vanegas, 2 was appointed chief algua- 
zil of the city, and had charge of the Moorish 
inhabitants ; and his son, lately the prince Al- 

1 Abarca, lib. sup. Zurita, etc. 

2 Cid Hiaya was made cavalier of the order of Santiago. 
He and his son intermarried with the Spanish nobility, and 
the marqueses of Compotejar are among their descendants. 
Their portraits, and the portraits of their grandsons, are to b« 
Been in one of the rooms of the Generalife at Granada. 



618 CONQUEST OF GRANADA 

nayer, now Alonzo de Granada Vanegas, was ap 
pointed admiral of the fleets. 

It was on the sixth of January, the day of 
kings and festival of the Epiphany, that the sove- 
reigns made their triumphal entry with grand 
military parade. First advanced, we are told, a 
splendid escort of cavaliers in burnished armor, 
and superbly mounted. Then followed the prince 
Juan, glittering with jewels and diamonds; on 
each side of him, mounted on mules, rode the 
grand cardinal, clothed in purple, Fray Hernando 
de Talavera, bishop of Aria, and the archbishop 
elect of Granada. To these succeeded the queen 
and her ladies, and the king, managing in galliard 
style, say the Spanish chronicles, a proud and 
mettlesome steed {tin caballo arrogante). Then 
followed the army in shining columns, with flaunt- 
ing banners and the inspiring clamor of military 
music. The king and queen (says the worthy 
Fray Antonio Agapida) looked, on this occasion, 
as more than mortal : the venerable ecclesiastics, 
to whose advice and zeal this glorious conquest 
ought in a great measure to be attributed, moved 
along with hearts swelling with holy exultation, 
but with chastened and downcast looks of edify- 
ing humility; while the hardy warriors, in tossing 
plumes and shining steel, seemed elevated with a 
stern joy at finding themselves in possession of 
this object of so many toils and perils. As the 
streets resounded with the tramp of steeds and 
swelling peals of music, the Moors buried them- 
selves in the deepest recesses of their dwellings, 
There they bewailed in secret the fallen glory of 



THE ROYAL PROCESSION. 619 

their race, but suppressed their groans, lest they 
should be heard by their enemies, and increase 
their triumph. 

The royal procession advanced to the princi- 
pal mosque, which had been consecrated as a ca- 
thedral. Here the sovereigns offered up prayers 
and thanksgivings, and the choir of the royal 
chapel chanted a triumphant anthem, in which 
they were joined by all the courtiers and cava- 
liers. Nothing (says Fray Antonio Agapida) 
could exceed the thankfulness to God of the pious 
King Ferdinand, for having enabled him to eradi- 
cate fi'om Spain the empire and name of that 
accursed heathen race, and for the elevation of 
the cross in that city wherein the impious doc 
trines of Mahomet had so long been cherishea. 
In the fervor of his spirit, he supplicated from 
Heaven a continuance of its grace, and that this 
glorious triumph might be perpetuated. 1 The 
prayer of the pious monarch, was responded by 
the people, and even his enemies were for once 
convinced of his sincerity. 

When the religious ceremonies were concluded, 
the court ascended to the stately palace of the 
Alhambra, and entered by the great Gate of Jus- 
tice. The halls lately occupied by turbaned infi- 
dels now rustled with stately dames and Christian 
courtiers, who wandered with eager curiosity over 
this far-famed palace, admiring its verdant courts 
and gushing fountains, its halls decorated with 

1 The words of Fray Antonio Agapida are little more than 
an echo of those of the worthy Jesuit father Mariana (lib. 
35, cap. 18). 



620 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

elegant arabesques and storied with inscriptions, 
and the splendor of its gilded and brilliantly 
painted ceilings. 

It had been a last request of the unfortunate 
Boabdil, and one which showed how deeply he 
felt the transition of his fate, that no person might 
be permitted to enter or depart by the gate of 
the Alhambra, through which he had sallied forth 
to surrender his capital. His request was granted ; 
the portal was closed up, and remains so to the 
present day — a mute memorial of that event. 1 

The Spanish sovereigns fixed their throne in 
the presence-chamber of the palace, so long the 
seat of Moorish royalty. Hither the principal 

1 Garibay, Compend. Hist. lib. 40, cap. 42. The existence of 
this gateway, and the story connected with it, are perhaps 
known to few; but were identified, in the researches made to 
verify this history. The gateway is at the bottom of a tower, 
at some distance from the main body of the Alhambra. The 
tower has been rent and ruined by gunpowder, at the time 
when the fortress was evacuated by the French. Great 
masses lie around half covered by vines and fig-trees. A poor 
man, by the name ofMatteo Ximenes, who lives in one of the 
halls among the ruins of the Alhambra, where his family has 
resided for many generations, pointed out to the author the 
gateway, still closed up with stones. He remembered to have 
heard his father and grandfather say, that it had always been 
stopped up, and that out of it King Boabdil had gone when 
he surrendered Granada. The route of the unfortunate king 
may be traced thence across the garden of the convent of Los 
Martyros, and down a ravine beyond, through a street of 
Gypsy caves and hovels, by the gate of Los Molinos, and so 
on to the Hermitage of St. Sebastian. None but an antiqua- 
rian, however, will be able to trace it, unless aided by the 
humble historian of the place, Matteo Ximenes. 



END OF THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 621 

inhabitants of Granada repaired, to pay them 
homage and kiss their hands in token of vassal- 
age ; and their example was followed by deputies 
from all the towns and fortresses of the Alpux- 
arras, which had not hitherto submitted. 

Thus terminated the war of Granada, after ten 
years of incessant fighting ; equaling (says Fray 
Antonio Agapida) the far-famed siege of Troy 
in duration, and ending, like that, in the capture 
of the city. Thus ended also the dominion of the 
Moors in Spain, having endured seven hundred 
and seventy-eight years, from the memorable de- 
feat of Roderick, the last of the Goths, on the 
banks of the Guadalete. The authentic Agapida 
is uncommonly particular in fixing the epoch of 
this event. This great triumph of our holy Cath- 
olic faith, according to his computation, took place 
in the beginning of January, in the year of our 
Lord 1492, being 3,655 years from the population 
of Spain by the patriarch Tubal ; 3,797 from the 
general deluge ; 5,453 from the creation of the 
world, according to Hebrew calculation: and in 
the month Rabic, in the eight hundred and nine- 
ty-seventh year of the Hegira, or flight of Ma- 
homet; whom may God confound! saith the pious 
Agapida ! 



APPENDIX. 




HE Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada 
is finished, but the reader may be desirous 
of knowing the subsequent fortunes of some 
of the principal personages. 
The unfortunate Boabdil retired with his mother, 
his wife, his son, his sister, his vizier, and bosom 
counselor Aben Comixa, and many other relatives 
and friends, to the Valley of Purchena, where a small, 
but fertile territory had been allotted him, compri- 
sing several towns of the Alpuxarras, with all their 
rights and revenues. Here, surrounded by obedient 
vassals, devoted friends, and a loving family, and 
possessed of wealth sufficient to enable him to in- 
dulge in his habitual luxury and magnificence, he 
for a time led a tranquil life, and may have looked 
back upon his regal career as a troubled dream, from 
which he had happily awaked. Still he appears to 
have pleased himself with a shadow of royalty, mak- 
ing occasionally, progresses about his little domains, 
visiting the different towns, receiving the homage 
of the inhabitants, and bestowing largesses with a 
princely hand. His great delight, however, was in 
sylvan sports and exercises, with horses, hawks, and 
hounds, being passionately fond of hunting and fal- 
conry, so as to pass weeks together in sporting cam- 
paigns among the mountains. The jealous suspicions 
of Ferdinand followed him into his retreat. No exer- 



APPENDIX, 623 

lions were spared by the politically pious monarch, 
to induce him to embrace the Christian religion, as 
a means of severing him in feelings and sympathies 
from his late subjects ; but he remained true to the 
faith of his fathers ; and it must have added not a 
little to his humiliation to live a vassal under Chris- 
tian sovereigns. 

His obstinacy, in this respect, aggravated the dis- 
trust of Ferdinand, who, looking back upon the past 
inconstancy of the Moors, could not feel perfectly 
secure in his newly conquered territories, while 
there was one within their bounds who might revive 
pretensions to the throne, and rear the standard of 
an opposite faith in their behalf. He caused, there- 
fore, a vigilant watch to be kept upon the dethroned 
monarch in his retirement, and beset him with spies, 
who were to report all his words and actions. The 
reader will probably be surprised to learn, that the 
foremost of these spies was Aben Comixa ! Ever 
since the capture and release of the niece of the 
vizier by the count de Tendilla, Aben Comixa had 
kept up a friendly correspondence with that noble- 
man, and through this channel had gradually been 
brought over to the views of Ferdinand. Documents 
which have gradually come to light, leave little doubt 
that the vizier had been corrupted by the bribes and 
promises of the Spanish king, and had greatly pro- 
moted his views in the capitulation of Granada. It 
is certain that he subsequently received great estates 
from the Christian sovereigns. While residing in 
confidential friendship with Boabdil in his retirement, 
Aben Comixa communicated secretly with Hernando 
de Zafra, the secretary of Ferdinand, who resided 
at Granada, giving him information of all Boabdil's 
movements ; which the secretary reported by letter 
to the king. Some of the letters of the secretary 



G24 APPENDIX. 

still exist in the archives of Samancas, and have 
been recently published in the collection of unedited 
documents. 1 

The jealous doubts of Ferdinand were quickened 
by the letters of his spies. He saw in the hunting 
campaigns and royal progresses of the ex-king a 
mode of keeping up a military spirit, and a concerted 
intelligence among the Moors of the Alpuxarras, 
that might prepare them for future rebellion. By 
degrees, the very residence of Boabdil within the 
kingdom became incompatible with Ferdinand's ideas 
of security. He gave his agents, therefore, secret 
instructions to work upon the mind of the deposed 
monarch, and induce him, like El Zagal, to relinquish 
his Spanish estates for valuable considerations, and 
retire to Africa. Boabdil, however, was not to be 
persuaded ; to the urgent suggestions of these perfid- 
ious counselors, he replied, that he had given up a 
kingdom to live in peace ; and had no idea of going 
to a foreign land to encounter new troubles, and to 
be under the control of al-arabes. 2 

Ferdinand persisted in his endeavors, and found 
means more effectual of operating on the mind of 
Boabdil and gradually disposing him to enter into 
negotations. It would appear that Aben Comixa 
was secretly active in this matter, in ,the interests of 
the Spanish monarch, and was with him at Barcelona, 
as the vizier and agent of Boabdil. The latter, 
however, finding that his residence in the Alpuxarras 
was a cause of suspicion and uneasiness to Ferdinand, 

1 El rey Muley Babdali (Boabdil) y sus criados andan con- 
tinuamente a caza con glagos y azores, y alia esta agora en 
al campo ds Dalias y en Verja, aunque su casa tiene en An- 
darax, y dican que estara alia por todo este mes. — Carta Se- 
crela de Hernando de Zafra. Decembre, 1492. 

2 Letter of Hernando de Zafra to the sovereigns, Dec 9, 1493. 



APPENDIX. 625 

letermined to go himself to Barcelona, have a con- 
ference with the sovereigns, and conduct all his ne- 
gotiations with them in person. Zafra, the secretary 
of Ferdinand, who was ever on the alert, wrote a 
letter from Granada, apprising the king of Boabdil's 
intention, and that he was making preparations for 
the journey. He received a letter in reply, charging 
liini by subtle management to prevent, or at least 
delay, the coming of Boabdil to court. 1 The crafty 
monarch) trusted to effect through Aben Comixa as 
vizier and agent of Boabdil, an arrangement which 
it might be impossible to obtain from Boabdil him- 
self. The politic plan was carried into effect. 
Boabdil was detained at Andarax by the manage- 
ment of Zafra. In the mean time, a scandalous 
bargain was made on the 17th March, 1493, between 
Ferdinand and Aben Comixa, in which the latter, as 
vizier and agent of Boabdil, though without any 
license or authority from him, made a sale of his 
territory, and the patrimonial property of the prin- 
cesses, for eighty thousand ducats of gold, and 
engaged that he should depart for Africa, taking 
care, at the same time, to make conditions highly ad- 
vantageous for himself. 2 

This bargain being hastily concluded, Yusef 'Aben 
Comixa loaded the treasure upon mules, and departed 
for the Alpuxarras. Here, spreading the money be- 
fore Boabdil : " Senior," said he, " I have observed 
that as long as you live here, you are exposed to 
constant peril. The Moors are rash and irritable ; 
they may make some sudden insurrection, elevate 
your standard as a pretext, and thus overwhelm you 
and your friends with utter ruin. I have observed, 

1 Letter of the sovereigns to Hernando de Zafra, from Bar 
cekma, Feb. 1493. 

2 Alcantara, Hist. Granad. iv. c. 18. 

40 



626 APPENDIX. 

also that you pine away with grief, being continually 
reminded in this country that you were once its 
sovereign, but never more must hope to reign. 1 
have put an end to these evils. Your territory is 
sold — behold the price of it. With this gold you 
may buy far greater possessions in Africa, where 
you may live in honor and security." 

When Boabdil heard these words, he burst into a 
sudden transport of rage, and drawing his scimetar, 
would have sacrificed the officious Yusef on the 
spot, had not the attendants interfered, and hurried 
the vizier from his presence. 1 

The rage of Boabdil gradually subsided ; he saw 
that he had been duped and betrayed ; but he knew 
the spirit of Ferdinand too well to hope that he 
would retract the bargain, however illegitimately 
eifeeted. He contented himself, therefore, with ob- 
taining certain advantageous modifications, and then 
prepared to bid a final adieu to his late kingdom and 
his native land. 

It took some months to make the necessary arrange- 
ments ; or rather his departure was delayed by a 
severe domestic affliction. Morayma, his gentle and 
affectionate wife, worn out by agitations and alarms, 
was gradually sinking into the grave, a prey to de- 
vouring melancholy. Her death took place toward 
the end of August. Hernando de Zafra apprised 
king Ferdinand of the event as one propitious to his 
purposes : removing an obstacle to the embarkation, 
which was now fixed for the month of September. 
Zafra was instructed to accompany the exiles until 
he saw them landed on the African coast. 

The embarkation, however, did not take place 
until some time in the month of October. A caracca 
had been prepared at the port of Adra for Boabdil 
i Marmol. Rebel lib. 1, c. 22. 



APPENDIX. 627 

and his immediate family and friends. Another 
Caracca and two galliots received a number of faith- 
ful adherents, amounting, it is said to 1,130, who fol- 
lowed their prince into exile. 

A crowd of his former subjects witnessed his em- 
barkation. As the sails were unfurled and swelled 
to the breeze, and the vessel bearing Boabdil parted 
from the land, the spectators would fain have given 
him a farewell cheering ; but the humbled state 
of their once proud sovereign forced itself upon 
their minds, and the ominous surname of his youth 
rose involuntarily to their tongues : " Farewell, Boab- 
dil ! Allah preserve thee, El Zogoybi ! " burst spon- 
taneously from the lips. The unlucky appellation 
sank into the heart of the expatriated monarch, and 
tears dimmed his eyes as the snowy summits of the 
mountains of Granada gradually faded from his 
view. 

He was received with welcome at the court of his 
relative Muley Ahmed, caliph of Fez, the same who 
had treated El Zagal with such cruelty in his exile. 
For thirty-four years he resided in this court, treated 
with great consideration, and built a palace or al- 
cazar, at Fez, in which, it is said, he endeavored to 
emulate the beauties and delights of the Alhambra. 

The last we find recorded of him is in the year 
1536, when he followed the caliph to the field to repel 
the invasion of two brothers of the famous line of the 
Xerifes, who at the head of Berber troops had taken 
the city of Morocco and threatened Fez. The armies 
came in sight of each other on the banks of the 
Oaudal Hawit or river of slaves, at the ford of Bal- 
cuba. The river was deep, the banks were high and 
broken ; and the ford could only be passed in single 
file ; for three days the armies remained firing at 
each other across the stream, neither venturing to 



628 APPENDIX. 

attempt the dangerous ford. At length the caliph 
divided his army into three battalions, the command 
of the first he gave to his brother-in-law, and to 
Ali Atar, son of the old alcayde of Loxa ; another 
division he commanded himself, and the third, com- 
posed of his best marksmen, he put under the com- 
mand of his son the prince of Fez, and Boabdil, now 
a gray-haired veteran. The last mentioned column 
took the lead, dashed boldly across the ford, scram- 
bled up the opposite bank, and attempted to keep 
the enemy employed until the other battalions should 
have time to cross. The rebel army, however, at- 
tacked them with such fury, that the son of the king 
of Fez and several of the bravest alcaydes were 
slain upon the spot ; multitudes were driven back 
into the river, which was already crowded with pass- 
ing troops. A dreadful confusion took place ; the 
horse trampled upon the foot ; the enemy pressed on 
them with fearful slaughter ; those who escaped the 
sword perished by the stream ; the river was choked 
by the dead bodies of men and horses, and by the 
scattered baggage of the army. In this scene of 
horrible carnage fell Boabdil, truly called El Zogoybi, 
or the Unlucky — an instance, says the ancient 
chronicler, of the scornful caprice of fortune, dying 
in defense of the kingdom of another, after wanting 
spirit to die in defense of his own. 1 

The aspersion of the chronicler is more caustic 
than correct. Boabdil never showed a want of 
courage in the defense of Granada ; but he wanted 
firmness and decision ; he was beset from the first 
by perplexities, and ultimately, by the artifices of 
Ferdinand and the treachery of those in whom he 
most confided. 2 

1 Marinol. Bescrip de Africa, pt. 1, lib. 2, c. 40. Idem, Hist 
Rtb. de los Moros. lib 1, c. 21. 

2 In revising this account of the ultimate fortunes of Boab« 



APPENDIX. 629 



Notwithstanding the deadly rivalship of this 
youthful sultana, with Ayxa la Horra, the virtuous 
mother of Boabdil, and the disasters to which her 
ambitious intrigues gave rise, the placable spirit of 
Boabdil bore her no lasting enmity. After the death 
of his father, he treated her with respect and kind- 
ness, and evinced a brotherly feeling towards her 
sons Cad and Nazar. In the capitulations for the 
surrender of Granada he took care of her interests, 
and the possessions which he obtained for her were 
in his neighborhood, in the valleys of the Alpuxarras. 
Zoraya, however, under the influence of queen Isa- 
bella, returned to the Christian faith, the religion of 
her infancy, and resumed her Spanish name of Isa- 
bella. Her two sons Cad and Nazar were baptized 
under the names of Don Fernando and Don Juan de 
Granada, and were permitted to take the titles of 
Infantas or princes. They intermarried with noble 
Spanish families, and the dukes of Granada, resident 
in Valladolid, are descendants of Don Juan (once 
Nazar), and preserve to the present day the blazon 
of their royal ancestor Muley Abul Hassan, and his 
motto, Le Galib ile Ala, God alone is conqueror. 

FATE OF ABEN COMIXA. 

An ancient chronicle which has long remained in 
manuscript, but has been published of late years in 
the collection of Spanish historical documents, 1 in- 

dil, the author has availed himself of facts recently brought 
out in Alcantara's histor}^ of Granada; which throw strong 
Hcrhts on certain parts of the subject hitherto covered with 
obscurity. 

1 Padilla, Cronica de Felipe el Hermosa, cap. 18, y. 19 as 
cited bv Alcantara. 



630 APPENDIX. 

forms us of the subsequent fortunes of the perfidious 
Aben Oomixa. Discarded and despised by BoaMil 
for his treachery, he repaired to the Spanish court, 
and obtained favor in the eyes of the devout queen 
Isabella by embracing the Christian religion, being 
baptized under her auspices, with the name of Don 
Juan de Granada. He even carried his zeal for his 
newly adopted creed so far as to become a Franciscan 
friar. By degrees his affected piety grew cool, and 
the friar's garb became irksome. Taking occasion 
of the sailing of some Venetian galleys from Almeria, 
he threw off his religious habit, embarked on board 
of one of them and crossed to Africa, where he 
landed in the dress of a Spanish cavalier. 

In a private interview with Abderraman, the 
Moorish king of Bujia, he related his whole history, 
and declared that he had always been and still was 
at heart a true Mahometan. Such skill had he in 
inspiring confidence that the Moorish king took him 
into favor and appointed him governor of Algiers. 
While enjoying his new dignity, a Spanish squadron 
of four galleys under the celebrated count Pedro de 
Navarro, anchored in the harbor, in 1509. Aben 
Comixa paid the squadron a visit of ceremony in his 
capacity of governor ; gave the count repeated fetes, 
and in secret conversations with him laid open all 
the affairs of the king of Bujia, and offered if the 
count should return with sufficient force, to deliver 
the city into his hands and aid him in conquering 
the whole territory. The count hastened back to 
Spain and made known the proposed treachery to 
the Cardinal Ximenes, then prime minister of Spain. 
In the following month of January he was sent with 
liirty vessels and four thousand soldiers to achieve 
the enterprise. The expedition of Navarro was 
successful He made himself master of Bujia, and 



APPENDIX. 631 

seized in triumph on the royal palace, but he found 
there the base Aben Comixa weltering in his blood 
and expiring under numerous wounds. His treachery 
Had been discovered, and the vengeance of the king 
of Bujia had closed his perfidious career. 

DEATH OF THE MARQUES OF CADIZ. 

The renowned Roderigo Ponce de Leon, Marques, 
Duke of Cadiz, was unqestionably the most dis- 
tinguished among the cavaliers of Spain, for his zeal, 
enterprise, and heroism, in the great crusade of Gra- 
nada. He began the war by the capture of Albania : 
he was engaged in almost every inroad and siege of 
importance, during its continuance ; and was present 
at the surrender of the capital, the closing scene of 
the conquest. The renown thus acquired was sealed 
by his death, which happened in the forty-eighth 
year of his age, almost immediately at the close of 
his triumphs, and before a leaf of his laurels had 
time to wither. He died at his palace in the city 
of Seville, on the 27th day of August, 1492, but 'a 
few months after the surrender of Granada, and of 
an illness caused by exposures and fatigues under- 
gone in this memorable war. That honest chronicler, 
Andres Bernaldes, the curate of los Palacios, who 
was a contemporary of the marques, draws his por- 
trait from actual knowledge and observation. He 
was universally cited (says he) as the most perfect 
model of chivalrous virtue of the age. He was 
temperate, chaste, and rigidly devout ; a benignant 
commander, a valiant defender of his vassals, a great 
lover of justice, and an enemy to all flatterers, liars, 
robbers, traitors, and poltroons. 

His ambition was of a lofty kind — he sought 
distinguish himself and his family, by heroic arr~ 
sounding deeds; and to increase the patrinr 



632 



APPENDIX. 



his ancestors, by the acquisition of castles, domains, 
vassals, and other princely possessions. His rec- 
reations were all of a warlike nature ; he delighted 
in geometry as applied to fortifications, and spent 
much time and treasure in erecting and repairing 
fortresses. He relished music, but of a military 
kind — the sound of clarions and sackbuts, of drums 
and trumpets. Like a true cavalier, he was a pro- 
tector of the sex on all occasions, and an injured 
woman never applied to him in vain for redress. 
His prowess was so well known, and his courtesy to 
the fair, that the ladies of the court, when they ac- 
companied the queen to the wars, rejoiced to find 
themselves under his protection ; for wherever his 
banner was displayed, the Moors dreaded to adven- 
ture. He was a faithful and devoted friend, but a 
formidable enemy ; for be was slow to forgive, and 
his vengeance was persevering and terrible. 

The death of this o;ood and well-beloved cavalier 
spread grief and lamentation throughout all ranks. 
His relations, dependents, and companions in arms, 
put on mourning for his loss ; and so numerous were 
they, that half of Seville was clad in black. None, 
however, deplored his death more deeply and sin- 
cerely than his friend and chosen companion, Don 
Alonzo de Aguilar. 

The funeral ceremonies were of the most solemn 
and sumptuous kind. The body of the marques was 
arrayed in a costly shirt, a doublet of brocade, a sayo 
or long robe of black velvet, a marlota or Moorish 
tunic of brocade reaching to the feet, and scarlet 
stockings. His sword, superbly gilt, was girded to 
his side, as he used to wear it when in the field. 
Thus magnificently attired, the body was inclosed in 
a coffin, which was covered with black velvet, and 
decorated with a cross of white damask. It was then 



APPENDIX. 633 

placed on a sumptuous bier, in the centre of the 
great hall of the palace. Here the duchess made 
great lamentation over the body of her lord, in which 
she was joined by her train of damsels and attend- 
ants, as well as by the pages and esquires, and in- 
numerable vassals. 

In the close of the evening, just before the Ave 
Maria, the funeral train issued from the palace. Ten 
banners were borne around the bier, the particular 
trophies of the marques, won from the Moors by his 
valor in individual enterprises, before king Ferdinand 
had commenced the war of Granada. The procession 
was swelled by an immense train of bishops, priests, 
and friars of different orders, together with the civil 
and military authorities, and all the chivalry of Sev- 
ille, headed by the count of Cifuentes, at that time 
intendente or commander of the city. It moved 
slowly and solemnly through the streets, stopping oc- 
casionally, and chanting litanies and responses. Two 
hundred and forty waxen tapers shed a light like the 
day about the bier. The balconies and windows 
were crowded with ladies, who shed tears as the 
funeral train passed by ; while the women of the 
lower classes were loud in their lamentations, as if be- 
wailing the loss of a father or a brother. On ap- 
proaching the convent of St. Augustine, the monks 
came forth with the cross and tapers, and eight 
censers, and conducted the body into the church, 
where it lay in state until all the vigils were per- 
formed, by the different orders ; after which it was 
deposited in the family tomb of the Ponces in the 
same church, and the ten banners were suspended 
over the sepulchre. 1 

The tomb of the valiant Roderigo Ponce de Leon, 
1 Cura dt los Palacios, c. 10-4. 



634 - APPENDIX. 

with his banners mouldering above it, remained for 
ages an object of veneration with all who had read 
or heard of his virtues and achievements. In the 
year 1810, however, the chapel was sacked by the 
French, its altars were overturned, and the sepulchres 
of the family of the Ponces shattered to pieces. 
The present duchess of Benevente, the worthy de- 
scendant of this illustrious and heroic line, has since 
piously collected the ashes of her ancestors, restored 
the altar, and repaired the chapel. The sepulchres, 
however, were utterly destroyed ; an inscription in 
gold letters, on the wall of the chapel, to the right 
of the altar, is all that; denotes the place of sepulture 
of the brave Ponce de Leon.. 

THE LEGEND OF THE DEARTH OF DON ALONZO DE 
AGUILAR. 

To such as feel an interest in the fortune of the 
valiant Don Alonzo de Aguilar, the chosen friend 
and companion in arms of Ponce de Leon, marques 
of Cadiz, and one of the most distinguished heroes 
of the war of Granada, a few particulars of his re- 
markable fate wil) not be unacceptable. 

For several years after the conquest of Granada, 
the country remained feverish and unquiet. The 
zealous efforts of the Catholic clergy to effect the 
conversion of the infidels, and the coercion used for 
that purpose by government, exasperated the stub- 
born Moors of the mountains. Several missionaries 
were maltreated ; and in the town of Dayrin, two of 
them were seized, and exhorted, with many menaces, 
to embrace the Moslem faith ; on their resolutely re- 
fusing, they were killed with staves and stones, by 
the Moorish women and children, and their bodies 
burnt to ashes. 1 

1 Cur a da fas Palacios y c. 165. 



APPENDIX. 635 

Upon this event a body of Christian cavaliers as- 
sembled in Andalusia to the number of eight hun- 
dred, and, without waiting for orders from the king, 
revenged the death of these martyrs, by plundering 
and laying waste the Moorish towns and villages. 
The Moors fled to the mountains, and their cause 
was espoused by many of their nation, who inhabited 
those rugged regions. The storm of rebellion began 
to gather, and mutter its thunders in the Alpuxarras. 
They were echoed from the Serrania of Honda, ever 
ready for rebellion ; but the strongest hold of the 
insurgents was in the Sierra Vermeja, or chain of 
Red Mountains, which lie near the sea, the savage 
rocks and precipices of which may be seen from 
Gibraltar. 

When king Ferdinand heard of these tumults, he 
issued a proclamation ordering all the Moors of the 
insurgent regions to leave them within ten days, and 
repair to Castile : giving secret instructions, however 
that those who should voluntarily embrace the Chris- 
tian faith might be permitted to remain. At the 
same time, he ordered Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and 
the counts of Urena and Cifuentes, to march against 
the rebels. 

Don Alonzo de Aguilar was at Cordova, when he 
received the commands of the king. " What force 
is allotted us for this expedition ? " said he. On 
being told, he perceived that the number of troops 
was far from adequate. " When a man is dead," said 
he, " we send four men into his house to bring forth 
the body. We are now sent to chastise these Moors, 
who are alive, vigorous, in open rebellion, and en- 
sconced in their castles ; yet they do not give us man 
to man. These words of the brave Alonzo de Agui- 
lar were afterwards frequently repeated ; but though 
Ue saw the desperate nature of the enterprise, lie did 
not hesitate to undertake it. 



636 APPENDIX. 

Don Alonzo was at that time in the fifty-first year 
of his age : a warrior, in whom the fire of youth was 
yet unquenehed, though tempered by experience. 
The greater part of his life had been passed in camp 
and field, until danger was as his habitual element. 
His muscular frame had acquired the firmness of iron, 
without the rigidity of age. His armor and weapons 
seemed to have become a part of his nature, and he 
sat like a man of steel on his powerful war-horse. 

He took with him, on this expedition, his son Don 
Pedro de Cordova, a youth of bold and generous 
spirit, in the freshness of his -days, and armed and 
arrayed with the bravery of a young Spanish cav- 
alier. When the populace of Cordova beheld the 
veteran father, the warrior of a thousand battles, 
leading forth his son to the field, they bethought 
themselves of the family appellation : " Behold," cried 
they, " the eagle teaching his young to fly ! Long 
live the valiant line of Aguilar ! " 2 

The prowess of Don Alonzo, and of his companions 
in arms, was renowned throughout the Moorish towns. 
At their approach, therefore, numbers of the Moors 
submitted, and hastened to Ronda to embrace Chris- 
tianity. Among the mountaineers, however, were 
many of 1he Gandules, a tribe from Africa, too proud 
of spirit to bend their necks to the yoke. At their 
head was a Moor named El Feri of Ben Estepar, 
renowned for strength and courage. At his insti- 
gation, his followers gathered together their families 
and most precious effects, placed them on mules, and 
driving before them their flocks and herds, abandoned 
their valleys, and retired up the craggy passes of the 
Siena Vermeja. On the summit was a fertile plain, 
surrounded by rocks and precipices, which formed a 
natural fortress. Here El Feri placed all the women 
1 Aguilar — the Spanish for eagle. 



APPENDIX. 637 

and children, and all the property. By his orders, 
his followers piled great stones on the rocks and 
cliffs which commanded the defiles and the steep 
sides of the mountain, and prepared to defend every 
pass that led to his place of refuge. 

The Christian commanders arrived, and pitched 
their camp before the town of Monarda, a strong 
place, curiously fortified, and situated at the foot of 
the highest part of the Sierra Vermeja. Here they 
remained for several days, unable to compel a sur- 
render. They were separated from the skirt of the 
mountain by a deep barranca or ravine, at the bottom 
of which flowed a small stream. The Moors, com- 
manded by El Feri, drew down from their mountain 
height, and remained on the opposite side of the 
brook, to defend a pass which led up to their strong- 
hold. 

One afternoon, a number of Christian soldiers, in 
mere bravado, seized a banner, crossed the brook, 
and, scrambling up the opposite bank, attacked the 
Moors. They were followed by numbers of their 
companions, some in aid, some in emulation, but most 
in hope of booty, A sharp action ensued on the 
mountain side. The Moors were greatly superior in 
number, and had the vantage-ground, When the 
counts of Ureiia and Cifuentes beheld this skirmish, 
they asked Don Alonzo de Aguilar his opinion : 
" My opinion," said he, " was given at Cordova, and 
remains the same : this is a desperate enterprise : 
however, the Moors are at hand, and if they suspect 
weakness in us, it will increase their courage and 
our peril. Forward then to the attack, and I trust 
in God we shall gain a victory." So saying, he led 
his troops into the battle. 1 

On the skirts of the mountain were several level 
i Bleda, lib. 5, c. 26. 



638 APPENDIX. 

places, like terraces ; here the Christians pressed 
valiantly upon the Moors, and had the advantage ; 
but the latter retreated to the steep and craggy 
heights, whence they hurled darts and rocks upon 
their assailants. They defended their passes and 
defiles with valor, but were driven from height to 
height, until they reached the plain on the summit 
of the mountain, where their wives and children were 
sheltered. Here they would have made a stand : 
but Alonzo de Aguilar, with his son Don Pedro, 
charged upon them at the head of three hundred 
men, and put them to night with great carnage. 
While they were pursuing the flying enemy, the rest 
of the army, thinking the victory achieved, dispersed 
themselves over the little plain in search of plunder. 
They pursued the shrieking females, tearing off their 
necklaces, bracelets, and anklets of gold ; and they 
found so much treasure of various kinds collected in 
this spot, that they threw by their armor and weap- 
ons, to load themselves with booty. 

Evening was closing. The Christians, intent upon 
spoil, had ceased to pursue the Moors, and the latter 
were arrested in their flight by the cries of their 
wives and children. Their leader, El Feri, threw 
himself before them : " Friends, soldiers," cried he, 
" whither do you fly ? Whither can you seek refuge, 
where the enemy cannot follow you ? Your wives, 
your children, are behind you — turn and defend 
them ; you have no chance for safety, but from the 
weapons in your hands." 

The Moors turned at his words. They beheld the 
Christians scattered about the plain, many of them 
without armor, and all encumbered with spoil. 
" Now is the time ! " shouted El Feri ; " charge upon 
them while laden with your plunder. I will open a 
path for you ! " He rushed to the attack, followed 



APPENDIX. 639 

by his Moors, with shouts and cries that echoed 
through the mountains. The scattered Christians 
were seized with panic, and throwing down their 
booty, began to fly in all directions. Don Alonzo de 
AoTiilar advanced his banner, and endeavored to rally 
them. Finding his horse of no avail in these rocky 
heights, he dismounted, and caused his men to do 
the same ; he had a small band of tried followers, 
with which he opposed a bold front to the Moors, 
calling on the scattered troops to rally in the rear. 

Night had completely closed. It prevented the 
Moors from seeing the smallness of the force with 
which they were contending; and Don Alonzo and 
his cavaliers dealt their blows so vigorously, that, 
aided by the darkness, they seemed multiplied to ten 
times their number. Unfortunately, a small cask of 
gunpowder blew up, near to the scene of action. 
It shed a momentary but brilliant light over all the 
plain, and on every rock and cliff. The Moors be- 
held, with surprise, that they were opposed by a 
mere handful of men, and that the greater part of 
the Christians were flying from the field. They put 
up loud shouts of triumph. While some continued 
the conflict with redoubled ardor, others pursued the 
fugitives, hurling after them stones and darts, and 
discharging showers of arrows. Many of the Chris- 
tians, in their terror and their ignorance of the 
mountains, rushed headlong from the brinks of pre- 
cipices, and were dashed in pieces. 

Don Alonzo still maintained his ground ; but, 
while some of the Moors assailed him in front, others 
galled him with all kinds of missiles from the im- 
pending cliffs. Some of the cavaliers, seeing the 
hopeless nature of the conflict, proposed to abandon 
the height and retreat down the mountain : " No," 
Raid Don Alonzo, proudly, " never did the banner 



640 APPENDIX. 

of the house of Aguilar retreat one foot in the field 
of battle." He had scarcely uttered these words, 
when his son Pedro was stretched at his feet. A 
stone hurled from a cliff had struck out two of his 
teeth, and a lance passed quivering through his thigh. 
The youth attempted to rise, and, with one knee on 
the ground, to fight by the side of his father. Don 
Alonzo, finding him wounded, urged him to quit the 
field. " Fly, my son!" said he; "let 'us not put 
everything at venture upon one hazard. Conduct 
thyself as a good Christian, and live to comfort and 
honor thy mother." 

Don Pedro still refused to leave his side . Where- 
upon Don Alonzo ordered several of his followers to 
bear him off by force. His friend Don Francisco 
Alvarez of Cordova, taking him in his arms, con- 
veyed him to the quarters of the count of Urena, 
who had halted on the height, at some distance from 
the scene of battle, for the purpose of rallying and 
succoring the fugitives. Almost at the same moment, 
the count beheld his own son, Don Pedro Giron, 
brought in grievously wounded. 

In the mean time, Don Alonzo, with two hundred 
cavaliers, maintained the unequal contest. Sur- 
rounded by foes, they fell, one after another, like so 
many stags encircled by the hunters. Don Alonzo 
was the la6t survivor, without horse, and almost with- 
out armor — his corselet unlaced, and his bosom 
gashed with wounds. Still he kept a brave front to 
the enemy, and, retiring between two rocks, defended 
himself with such valor, that the slain lay in a heap 
before him. 

He wasf assailed in this retreat, by a Moor of sur- 
passing strength and fierceness. The contest was 
(or some time doubtful ; but Don Alonzo received a 
around in the hp-ad, and another in the breast, which 



APPENDIX. 641 

made him stagger. Closing and grappling with his 
foe, they had a desperate struggle, until the Chris- 
tian cavalier, exhausted by his wounds, fell upon his 
back. He still retained his grasp upon his enemy : 
" Think not," cried he, " thou hast an easy prize ; 
know that I am Don Alonzo, he of Aguilar I " — 
" If thou art Don Alonzo," replied the Moor, " know 
that I am El Feri of Ben Estepar." They continued 
their deadly struggle, and both drew their daggers ; 
but Don Alonzo was exhausted by seven ghastly 
wounds ; while he was yet struggling, his heroic soul 
departed from his body, and he expired in the grasp 
of the Moor. 

Thus fell Alonzo de Aguilar, the mirror of Anda- 
lusian chivalry — one of the most powerful grandees 
of Spain, for person, blood, estate, and office. For 
forty years he had made successful war upon the 
Moors — in childhood by his household and retainers, 
in manhood by the prowess of his arm, and in the 
wisdom and valor of his spirit. His pennon had al- 
ways been foremost in danger ; he had been general 
of armies, viceroy of Andalusia, and the author of 
glorious enterprises, in which kings were vanquished, 
and mighty alcaydes and warriors laid low. He had 
slain many Moslem chiefs with his own arm, and 
among others the renowned Ali Atar of Loxa, fight- 
ing foot to foot, on the banks of the Xenil. His 
judgment, discretion, magnanimity, and justice, vied 
with his prowess. He was the fifth lord of his war- 
like house, that fell in battle with the Moors. 

" His soul," observes the worthy padre Abarca, 
" it is believed, ascended to heaven, to receive the 
reward of so Christian a captain ; for that very day, 
he had armed himself with the sacraments of confes- 
sion and communion." * 

1 Abarca, Anales de Aragon, Rey xxx. cap. ii. 
41 



642 APPENDIX. 

The Moors, elated with their success, pursued the 
fugitive Christians down the defiles and sides of the 
mountains. It was with the utmost difficulty that 
the count de Urena could bring off a remnant of his 
forces from that disastrous height. Fortunately, on 
the lower slope of the mountain, they found the rear- 
guard of the army, led by the count de Cifuentes, 
who had crossed the brook and the ravine to come 
to their assistance. As the fugitives came flying in 
headlong terror down the mountain, it was with dif- 
ficulty the count kept his own troops from giving way 
in panic, and retreating in confusion across the brook. 
He succeeded, however, in maintaining order, in rally- 
ing the fugitives, and checking the fury of the Moors : 
then, taking his station on a rocky eminence, he 
maintained his post until morning ; sometimes sustain- 
ing violent attacks, at other times rushing forth and 
making assaults upon the enemy. When morning 
dawned, the Moors ceased to combat, and drew up 
to the summit of the mountain. 

It was then that the Christians had time to breathe, 
and to ascertain the sad loss they had sustained. 
Among the many valiant cavaliers who had fallen, 
was Don Francisco Ramirez of Madrid, who had 
been captain-general of artillery throughout the war 
of Granada, and contributed greatly by his valor and 
ingenuity to that renowned conquest. But all other 
griefs and cares were forgotten, in anxiety for the 
fate of Don Alonzo de Aguilar. His son, Don Pedro 
de Cordova, had been brought off with great difficulty 
from the battle, and afterwards lived to be marques 
of Priego ; but of Don Alonzo nothing was known, 
except that he was left with a handful of cavaliers, 
fighting valiantly against an overwhelming force. 

As the rising sun lighted up the red cliffs of the 
mountains, the soldiers watched with anxious eyes, 



APPENDIX. 643 

if perchance his pennon might be descried, fluttering 
from any precipice or defile ; but nothing of the kind 
was to be seen. The trumpet-call was repeatedly 
sounded, but empty echoes alone replied. A silence 
reigned about the mountain summit, which showed 
that the deadly strife was over. Now and then a 
wounded warrior came dragging his feeble steps from 
among the clefts and rocks ; but, on being questioned, 
he shook his head mournfully, and could tell nothing 
of the fate of his commander. 

The tidings of this disastrous defeat, and of the 
perilous situation of the survivors, reached King Fer- 
dinand at Granada ; he immediately marched, at the 
head of all the chivalry of his court, to the moun- 
tains of Ronda. His presence, with a powerful 
force, soon put an end to the rebellion. A part of 
the Moors were suffered to ransom themselves, and 
p.mbark for Africa ; others were made to embrace 
Christianity ; and those of the town where the Chris- 
tian missionaries had been massacred, were sold as 
slaves. From the conquered Moors, the mournful 
but heroic end of Alonzo de Aguilar was ascertained. 

On the morning after the battle, when the Moors 
«ame to strip and bury the dead, the body of Don 
Alonzo was found, among those of more than two 
hundred of his followers, many of them alcaydes and 
cavaliers of distinction. Though the person of Don 
Alonzo was well known to the Moors, being so dis- 
tinguished among them both in peace and war, yet 
it was so covered and disfigured with wounds, that 
it could with difficulty be recognized. They pre- 
served it with great care, and, on making their sub- 
mission, delivered it up to King Ferdinand. It was 
conveyed with great state to Cordova, amidst the 
tears and lamentations of all Andalusia. When the 
fungal train entered Cordova, and the inhabitant* 



644 APPENDIX. 

saw the coffin containing the remains of their favorite 
hero, and the war-horse, led in mournful trappings, 
on which they had so lately seen him sally forth from 
their gates, there was a general burst of grief 
throughout the city. The body was interred, with 
great pomp and solemnity, in the church of St. Hy- 
polito. 

Many years afterwards, his granddaughter, Dona 
Catalina of Aguilar and Cordova, marchioness of 
Priego, caused his tomb to be altered. On examin- 
ing the body, the head of a lance was found among 
the bones, received without doubt among the wounds 
of his last mortal combat. The name of this ac- 
complished and Christian cavalier has ever remained 
a popular theme of the chronicler and poet, and is 
endeared to the public memory by many of the 
historical ballads and songs of his country. For a 
long time the people of Cordova were indignant at 
the brave count de Urefia, who they thought had 
abandoned Don Alonzo in his extremity ; but the 
Castilian monarch acquitted him of all charge of the 
kind, and continued him in honor and office. It was 
proved that neither he nor his people could succor 
Don Alonzo, or even know of his peril, from the 
darkness of the night. There is a mournful little 
Spanish ballad or romance, which breathes the public 
grief on this occasion ; and the populace, on the re- 
turn of the count de Urena to Cordova, assailed hira 
with one of its plaintive and reproachful verses : — 

Count Urena ! count Urena ! 
Tell us, where is Don Alonzo ! 

(Dezid Conde de Urena! 
Don Alonzo, donde queda?) 1 

1 Bleda, lib. 5, cap. 26 












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